In an exclusive interview with Black Enterprise Magazine’s Senior Vice President and Editor-In-Chief Derek T. Dingle, President Barack Obama shared his efforts on changing the scope of Black businesses and unemployment.
During their talk, President Obama discusses the nearly 14% rate of Black unemployment and how his administration is going about changing the way government aid is provided for large businesses intended for small ones. He emphasizes the need to focus on disadvantaged businesses as the Black community is hurt more than others during times of recession.
“How do you respond to criticism that your administration hasn’t done enough to support Black businesses?”
My general view has been consistent throughout, which is that I want all businesses to succeed. I want all Americans to have opportunity. I’m not the president of black America. I’m the president of the United States of America, but the programs that we have put in place have been directed at those folks who are least able to get financing through conventional means, who have been in the past locked out of opportunities that were available to everybody. So, I’ll put my track record up against anybody in terms of us putting in place broad-based programs that ultimately had a huge benefit for African American businesses.
Read the full interview on the Black Enterprise Magazine website.
What could President Obama’s administration do differently? How are you, yourself, changing the current status of Black-owned businesses?