Black business owners are clearing hurdles today and for the future, but it’s not easy – Knoxville News Sentinel

Any entrepreneur starting a business will hit speed bumps, but forBlack entrepreneurs, those speed bumps are often bigger.

Damon Rawls, principal strategist with The Innovation Digital Agency and founder of the KnoxvilleBlack Business Directory, is afourth-generation Black business owner.

His mom owned an assisted living facility, his grandfather was a contractor and his great-grandfather repackaged and sold day-old bread from stores that wouldn't allow Black people to shop there.

Although technology has made it easier for people to bring their entrepreneurial ideas to life, Rawls said, not much has changed through the generations.

"I don't think we've come very far at all," he said. "There's (challenges with) ... access to not only capital but in reference to how communities see your business. Because we still live in a world where Black people are seen in a certain way. So, therefore their businesses are kind of seen inferior."

How to support Knoxville Black businesses

Calvin Mattheis, Knoxville News Sentinel

Local media outlets have not always told the full story of Knoxvilles Black communities and, historically, that includes Knox News. While we work to ensure Black communities are truly and fully present in our coverage, there are important stories we've missed along the way.

Join us for a five-story series exploringthe experience ofBlack-owned businesses in Knoxville, from the legacy companiesto thenew ventures.

The Knoxville Black Business Directory is helping Knoxville consumers who want to support Black-owned businesses.Rawls said many Knoxvillians are being intentional with how they spend their money in response to the ongoing racial reckoning that has made people reconsider howthey support Black-owned businesses.

"And a portion of that is, even if you decide to spend Black, you're spending money with a Knoxvillian; you're not spending money with an outsider," Rawls said. "And so, it goes to grow the economy."

Despite the historical and present-day obstaclesBlack business owners have faced, the Black business community is poisedfor growth.Adollar spent at a Black-owned business today could help create more jobs down the road, Rawls said.

And when young Black people seeexamples of business successfrom people who look like them, it can make their dreams more attainable.

"It was the same thing when we saw President Obama," Rawls said. "There had been no other Black presidents. But now, in the lexicon of children, they know: 'I can grow up to be a president. No matter what the world says, I know it because it's been done.'"

On a national level, less than 2% of top executives at the 50 largest companies are Black, according to a review by USA Today. In communities across the country, including Knoxville, some consumers seeking services still weigh skin color over qualifications, Rawls said.

"People have said it as, 'Your ice is not as cold.,'" hesaid. "It's still weighted. ... I can't control the other side of that. I can't control the image. I can control the output, which is my product that I give, which will be the best."

Published2:31 am UTC Sep. 29, 2021Updated2:31 am UTC Sep. 29, 2021

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Black business owners are clearing hurdles today and for the future, but it's not easy - Knoxville News Sentinel