Few events are more fulfilling than college graduation. After years of academic effort the student’s achievement is officially recognized. The university confers on the student the diploma that attests to his or her qualifications for employment in the professions or business. Trends indicate that African American graduates are more likely now to become entrepreneurs than in earlier years.
Nonetheless, immediate immersion in the world of work will be essential for most graduates. The unremitting process of repaying school loans will begin following a brief respite after graduation. According to the Institute for College Access and Success, the average student loan debt was $29,400 for the class of 2012. More than likely the size of the school debt remains just as high for the class of 2015.
Fortunately the economy has improved so the unemployment rate for young college graduates has declined, but unemployment is still too high for black graduates. According to the Economic Policy Institute, young black grads were hit especially hard in 2010 when the impact of the Great Recession was most robust. Unemployment for young black college grads then was 20 percent. The rate for whites was 8.6 in 2011 and dropped to 8.0 percent in 2014, while blacks still had the burden of a much higher rate, 13.1 percent.
When the general unemployment rate reached 9.6 percent in 2010, the highest since the Great Depression, it created a national crisis. Since last year, young college educated blacks had to survive such crisis conditions and find a way to thrive with limited job opportunities. Inadequate income made it impossible to liquidate college debt, but it also restricted the accumulation of capital to finance businesses.
With the general unemployment rate in Massachusetts down to 4.9 percent, even lower than the 5.5 percent national rate, the economic environment for graduates undoubtedly will be more promising. In fact, the National Association of Colleges and Employees, an organization to help college graduates develop their careers, predicts that employment for 2015 grads will be up by 8.3 percent over last year. While the increase will be appreciated, it will hardly be enough to improve the financial status of young blacks.
The growth of black businesses to a sufficient scale to be inspiring has induced many young blacks to consider becoming entrepreneurs. Once they have attended college to develop the necessary business skills, the lack of opportunity can be truly frustrating.
Once the American dream of business success was so remote that blacks saw it only as part of the white world. Now Black Enterprise has changed that perception. Every June the magazine lists the top 100 black businesses in various categories. In 1973 those companies had combined annual revenues of only $492 million ($2.6 billion adjusted for inflation). In 2013 annual revenues had grown to $19.1 billion.
Banner Biz was launched to help foster the culture of African American entrepreneurship. It is of great importance for corporate America to employ young black college graduates so that they can acquire a better understanding of how the economy works. There is no better way for them to appreciate the value of the private enterprise system.
