By Janeal Downs

Many people in the black community voted for President Obama in his first presidential race as well as his second. There are numerous successful people in the black community, pharmacy whether they are business owners, viagra dosage attorneys, teachers, or other positive professions. However, what is highlighted most in the community are negative aspects in relation to areas such as crime.

Why are black-owned businesses not getting the recognition they deserve to maintain their success? One reason may be the lack of support from the black consumers themselves. On a mission to encourage people to support black-owned businesses, the Central Virginia African American Chamber of Commerce will hold its first anniversary celebration, and the theme is “we must spend dollars with African American Businesses.” The event will offer African American entrepreneurs the chance to meet other owners of small, medium, and large businesses and to expand their network.

The keynote speaker of the event, Margarita “Maggie” Anderson, brings to light the fact that people can “get elected black”, “vote black”, but many don’t often buy black. Maggie Anderson, an entrepreneur and advocate, is one person who has made it her mission to enhance the support of black business owners. Maggie, along with her husband John Anderson, made it their goal to enhance the black community economically by purchasing items and living off of businesses and utilizing products owned by black people for the year of 2009. This project, known as The Empowerment Experiment, even resulted in a study conducted by Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Business. With the data from the Empowerment Experiment, the university’s research proved that an increase in support of black businesses can elevate not only the black community but also the overall economy of America. “We took the stand so that years later we could have a platform like this, so that we can unite with all those folks who have been caring about black businesses and wondering where they went and understanding that the problems in our community are a direct result of our not having strong businesses in the community, and our not having our fair due representation in corporate America,” Maggie said in an interview on The Jack Gravely Show.

Maggie said the problem within the black community is not a lack of entrepreneurs but a lack of consumer demand and support. “The consumers weren’t doing anything and we know, from what happened in Montgomery, it’s the people that have to stand up,” Maggie said. “We can have these great institutions but if the people aren’t behind them, nothing’s going to change.” Though many people initially see her stance as racist, Maggie said once given facts and statistics, many people understand. In comparison to other ethnic communities, such as the Hispanic community where the majority of the people have their money in Banco Popular, the black community falls behind in support.  “I’ll be honest, my children were teased in school; we got death threats; my husband almost lost his job just because I decided to do what the average Asian woman does in the Asian community, what the average Jewish person does in the Jewish community. Everyone knows that Jewish people shop by name and nationality first, brand and product second,” Maggie said. She said in the Asian American community, the dollar stays with the bank, the professionals, and the retailers for 28 days before being spent elsewhere. She said in the Jewish community, their money stays for 21 days, seven days in the Hispanic community, and only six hours in the black community.

She said Asians have the lowest unemployment rates and graduation rates, which the same cannot be said for the black community. Maggie encourages an increase in black-owned businesses and the support for them and said black firms are 80% more likely to hire black employees, which will help unemployment overall in the U.S. She said, she recommends for entrepreneurs to open businesses which are not typical for the community such as dry cleaners, wine shops, liquor stores, and beauty supply stores. She advised to not only start different kinds of businesses, but to also open them in not only areas where a large portion of black people live, but other areas such as diverse suburban areas.

With her husband, Maggie is the cofounder and CEO of The Empowerment Experiment and The Empowerment Experiment Foundation.  She even detailed her Empowerment Experiment in her book with Ted Gregory, “Our Black Year” One family’s Quest to Buy Black in America’s Racially Divided Economy. The synopsis of the book states that black wealth is about one tenth of white wealth, and African American businesses fall behind those of all other races.  “The Empowerment Experiment is a movement which members of the African American community need to embrace. As African American entrepreneurs and consumers, we must have a better understanding of the business segments that offer the greatest economic opportunities,” President of U.S. Black Chamber, Inc., Ron Busby stated in a review of the book. “Maggie Anderson chronicles her own family’s commitment to patronize only Black-owned businesses for a whole year in this phenomenal book.”

In her interview on The Jack Gravely Show, she said one key to increasing the wealth in the black community is to have strong chambers of commerce such as the Central Virginia African American Chamber of Commerce (CVAACC).  She said the success of other ethnic communities is fueled by their chambers. When in grocery stores, Maggie said the reason people see entire aisles of Asian and Hispanic products is because of these consumers and their chambers. “So we want to be really smart about this, we want to get behind our chambers, and we need to start really looking for our products on the shelf, our hotels, our dealers; we need to be open about this,” Maggie said. “These are the things that we need to be doing, and no one’s stopping us from this.”

Her mission falls in line with that of the CVAACC, to encourage the support of black-owned businesses and increasing the wealth in the African American community. “The CVAACC is charged with growing African American businesses and increasing wealth in the African American community.  We believe that through education, networking, and various collaborations, the African American community can improve its economic position.  The Central Virginia African American Chamber of Commerce will be a driving force behind this movement,” the CVAACC stated on its website. To register for the CVAACC’s First Anniversary Celebration or to get more information go to www.cvaacc.org.