What if you had the power to build a city? What would you put in the city? How about a Vegan Restaurant, a Chic Furniture Design Studio, and a Green Compost Manufacturer for starts? Your neighborhoods would become your favorite weekend hangout spot, without the inconvenience of leaving your community for all the amenities you could want/need.
What if I told you that you have the power to build a city and it starts with you supporting businesses like these and many more. The examples above are actual black owned businesses, and they are quietly building the resurgence to help Detroit recover from its greatest financial deficit since The Great Depression. According to a recent Huffington Post article, Black owned Businesses are providing the key building blocks to Detroit's economic recovery. While some inhabitants are fleeing Detroit, these businesses are providing an incentive for people to stay and move closer to the city's center. Patronizing black owned businesses gives the greatest ROI to the community. It helps the business owners create more jobs, it utilizes local resources, and it creates a sense of pride in your neighborhood. That is essentially how these business owners are rebuilding Detroit.
Bolstering over 53,000 Black Owned Businesses in the city (according to the 2007 Census), there are businesses in every category, with industries in repair, laundry services, health care and social assistance to name a few. This vast array of businesses to choose from should inspire us to use the power in our pockets to rebuild, and invest in all of our communities. According to the Huffington Post, Detroit is the largest municipal bankruptcy in US History, but like Detroit, we possess the power to create the foundation of a future that hinges on the success of businesses in the community.
This is just scratching the surface of what the Huffington Post covered in great detail. It is definitely food for thought. You can find the article in its entirety here: Detroit Black Owned Businesses