The Miami times. [volume] (Miami, Fla.) 1923-current, 1950-02-04

The time may come when the race
appeal in Negro business will be OBJ
solete, but that time is not yet!
Here and there about the country
Negro businesses flourish from their
White patronage, but generally
speaking, Negro business must rely
chiefly on Negro patronage. This
writer has in mind little city IN
upper South Carolina where the Ne
gro dentists has fine practice with
the major portion among the Whites.
This can be duplicated here and
there about the country, but on the
masses Of Negro dentists must serve
Negroes. This is true Of the other
Negro professions, and especially
true of Negro business which is
fighting for its place in the Negroes
scheme of things.
For quite rs years this column has
contended that the next departure
Of ultimate significance in Negro
advance is in the direction of Negro
business. If the Negro professional
could be induced to take to the ru-
raj section of the South, an indefi-
nitely large number of these could
be absorbed; but so Indifferent is
the average Negro professional to
the call of the country, that the
number, of Negro professionals must
be reckoned upon the basis of their
frequency in the cities, and thus
reckoning, the professions are
crowded.
With the professionals crowded
and crOwding in our cities, business
offers the most profitable depar-
ture and the Negro who gets in on
the ground floor will be the business
magnate of tomorrow. But without
the race appeal the Negro business
man can never get started; he can
not compete with the white man be-
cause he lacks capital, and he lacks
capital because he cannot compete.
In other words he finds himself in
an economic vicious circle from
which only race loyalty can extricate
him. In the past it has been mar
velous and il will be the staying
power for many years to come.
This point is magnificiently illus
trated in the first of such great in
surance companies as the North
Carolina Mutual. the Southern Aid
and the Atlanta Life. Although
these companies can offer fine poll
cies now, they could not at first.
They can make the business appeal
now alike to Negroes and Whites;
but at the first they could only APP
peal to Negroes. In other words Ne
gro business must use the race APP
peal until such time as 1t can make
a bonafide business appeal, which it
cannot make at first. 1t lacks capt.
tai. According to one Of the theo-
rems of my Double Dut-Dollar phil
osophy, Negro business can be start
ed with race appeal, but it cannot
forever survive on this appeal. I'm
less the race appeal gets the Negro
business man beyond the race ap-
peal. it is a failure!
The fertile field Of business has
lain fallow for years because the
educated Negro was obsessed with
the frivolous notion that only the
professions were fit for his genius.
In a certain small city in a certain
state a few years ago. 1t was found
that Negroes had on deposit $1,000
900 and they rightly reasoned why
they could not run a bank Of their
own? They organized and elected Of
ficers and easily found suitable per-
sons for each office except the presi-
dency and they wanted to be sure 20
get a president who knew bank
ing" They turned down a honorable