Description:

"The Status of Black-Owned Businesses in South Carolina" by Dr. John A. Cole and Dr. Lucy J. Reuben, interim department chair of economies at North Carolina A&T State University and a Duke University business professor, respectively, offers an analysis of the value of black-owned businesses to the state's economy. The economists contend that increasing the number of successful black-owned businesses is an important key to sustained advancement of the state’s economy. Because black-owned businesses provide jobs in counties with the largest African American population, they suggest that the stronger such businesses are, the stronger those local economies and the state economy will be. The Governor’s Office of Small and Minority Business Assistance (OSMBA) and the state Department of Commerce have significant roles to play in promoting the success of black-owned businesses.