Business Enterprise or Public Service? Alternative Paths to Economic Development for African Americans

Many African Americans have advanced economically by owning their own businesses. Yet, because of the growing political power of African Americans, especially in major cities, the main avenue of success is now employment in federal, state, or local government. The speaker discusses why African Americans have found their greatest opportunities in this sector rather than in small-business enterprise, focusing on historical, economic, and sociological factors. The speaker also addresses how the employment of African Americans in the public sector may affect the future prospects of economic achievement for African Americans as a group.

Speakers Expertise:

Robert L. Boyd has served as a professor of sociology at Mississippi State University since 1995. He received his master’s degree in Sociology from the University of Florida and his Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His research interests include ethnic economies, survivalist entrepreneurship; racial/ethnic inequality in an urban/historical context. He has recently published several articles in 2021 with titles including “Residential Segregation of European Immigrant Groups in the Early Twentieth Century United States".