In one of the many debates leading to the American Revolution, Benjamin Franklin urged his colleagues to stand united in the rebellion against Great Britain. He reminded them, “We must all hang together or, assuredly, we will all hang separately.”

Fast forward almost 230 years. Now, halfway into the first decade of the 21st Century, those famous words could also apply to advocacy groups seeking to make things better for the Birmingham area’s minority business community.

Though many sincere, committed individuals work in sincere, committed minority business groups, their efforts don’t necessarily produce great levels of effective change for their members. Why? Because they’re merely one of many entities, going in different directions, yet hoping to reach the same place – economic inclusion and empowerment.

Now is the time for these groups to join forces and make an impact that’s long overdue in our community.

“Crab mentality”
It’s been said that minority business people here tend to exhibit a crab mentality. Just when we see one of us become successful at climbing out of the barrel, a claw will reach up and bring the crab back down. If one of the crabs does make it out, it doesn’t do very much to get any other crabs out.

The many business advocacy groups in the area are working to refute that image. Each of them brings value to their campaign to empower people of color as they work to build stronger businesses in their groups and the community at large.

As chairman of the African-American Business Council (AABC) of the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce, I think it’s beneficial to be an arm of the biggest and most influential business group in the area. But have we done all we can as an organization to address the needs of existing and potential minority entrepreneurs? I don’t think so. And I believe it would be difficult for any local business advocacy group to answer a resounding “yes” to that question.

Look around. Metropolitan Birmingham is on the cusp of great things happening; consider the plans for major construction and development in transit, housing, and commercial projects.

But if we don’t succeed in getting our act together, we will squander the new opportunities that will surely come with these developments. For some of us, it may soon be too late for us to get our share because we will have failed to take advantage of the prospects that appear to be heading to Birmingham.

It’s time for us to work together more aggressively to encourage entrepreneurship and to make sure that would-be businesspeople in our communities realize the power of their dreams and the fulfillment that comes with turning them into reality.

At the AABC, we are committed to reaching out to groups and organizations who share this vision with us. But it will take more than just talking among ourselves. We also want to reach into the community to find the people who are doing great on the idea side, but may need a little help on the business side.

In the months ahead, the AABC will be looking for those opportunities, as well as building and reinforcing alliances with other minority groups, to turn vision into reality.

Reaching back to help
It’s important to help adults of color who are contemplating the leap from being an employee to becoming an entrepreneur, but we also have another important mission.

We have to give hope and inspiration to the generations coming behind us. We must reach back and pull them along with us. We need to expose our young people to the rewards that come from making a mark in the business world. While dreaming of being the next LeBron James or Jennifer Lopez or Usher is an urban youth’s fun fantasy, reality is harsh. Their chances of becoming a star are about as good as winning the Powerball jackpot.

We need to demonstrate that getting a good education, having a steady job or even owning a business is not “acting white,” but being smart by taking steps toward securing a good future for themselves, their families, their community and the generations that will follow them.

For a city that’s almost three-quarters black and a metro area whose Hispanic population is exploding, the rate of minority business ownership in the Birmingham region is paltry, particularly when compared with other cities. Why is that?

We can cite many historical circumstances as reasons, but we’re living in the here and now. We must always keep an eye to the past, but we can never fail to fix our gaze into the future. At the same time, we must look around to see where we can help each other, right now, in our quest for business success.

If we fail to help each other now and those who will follow us later, we will, as Mr. Franklin so eloquently put it, “hang separately.” Just think of all the good we can do if we find ways to “hang together.”

Willie Chriesman is chairman of the African-American Business Council of the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce. He owns a media consulting company, Chriesman and Associates. He can be reached at willie@chriesman.com.