African American Barbers and Bankers
African American Barbers and Bankers Abstract African American entrepreneurship was always a part of the American Business landscape. Even during Antebellum many took advantage of the limited opportunities available. The Postbellum economy created new opportunities for Black Businesses to prosper by attracting and serving particular patronage. African Americans continued to fight for a better life and carve out an existence after Reconstruction ended. With a long tradition of creative capitalism, African Americans found ways to participate in entrepreneurship for decades before the Civil War. Granted that the participation was minimal, given the restrictions placed on both enslaved and free black people, institutional racism, and legal restriction, they were indeed participants in the antebellum society. [1] In fact, in 1860, there were approximately 1,048 Black Businesses in the lower south; Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Caroli...