The census numbers released this year tell the story of the massive demographic change occurring in Georgia. Those federal reports say that in April 2020, the state was 50.1 percent white. Given the trend lines, we can conclude from these numbers that Georgia in 2021 is officially a majority-minority state.
Baoky Vu
Georgia, of course, takes great pride in its status as the No. 1 state for business. It never goes unmentioned when elected officials cut ribbons at grand opening events.
Given Georgia’s rich diversity, maintaining that top-ranked business climate moving forward will require unleashing the entrepreneurial spirt of Georgians – including many in groups denied opportunity in the past because of racial discrimination or redlining practices.
Throughout our history, minority populations were denied home buying opportunities that allow families to create generational wealth or turned down for loans needed to start new businesses.
The good news is that’s changing. Georgia has enjoyed strong growth in minority-owned businesses already. Surveys show it’s a national leader in black women-owned businesses: The Peach State ranks third in the percentage of employer firms led by black women and fourth for the percentage of employees employed at black women-led firms. And Zippia ranks Georgia second for “most supportive of black-owned businesses.”
And the booming presence of Hispanic and Asian-American owned businesses is impossible to miss throughout metro Atlanta and in the retail and hospitality industries of rural areas. As someone active in the Georgia Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce, I interact constantly with visionary entrepreneurs who are not only providing for themselves, but also creating jobs for Georgians.
There’s much more we can do. Banks across the country are stepping up not just with more lending to minority communities but also by investing directly in them. With Georgia’s diversity, this will benefit not only individuals with new access to capital but also the economy of the entire state.
Wells Fargo’s Open for Business Fund is donating roughly $420 million to efforts that help minority- and women-owned small businesses. This is projected to aid 124,000 small businesses nationwide, the vast majority of which are minority owned. These grants include capital investment but also millions for technical assistance and long-term resiliency programs that will help these businesses grow and thrive for many years. Some of that money has already gone to Morehouse College to help train and fund minority entrepreneurs.
JPMorgan Chase has committed $350 million over five years to black, Hispanic and other underserved small businesses through low-cost loans, equity investments and philanthropy. It’s aiming specifically to attack the racial wealth gap and help small businesses that have had a harder time recovering from the pandemic.
Citigroup reinvested net profits earned through participation in the Paycheck Protection Program to also help diverse entrepreneurs who may be ineligible for federal relief.
The efforts of large banking institutions complement the countless programs across the country devoted to this worthy cause.
Our task as a community and as a state is to connect our potential entrepreneurs to these programs that can lift a new generation toward the American Dream.
And while we’re proud that Georgia is No. 1 for business, the city of Atlanta is No. 1 for racial wealth disparity, according to the Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative. For example, the median household income in Atlanta for a white family is $83,722 compared to $28,105 for a black family.
We fix that by unleashing the potential of those who were left behind in the past by providing them with the capital they need to make their dreams a reality.
Vu, of Decatur, is a policy analyst and active in the Georgia Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce.
