I haven't read that issue yet, but I'll drop some thoughts anyway.

-Be careful about reading the BE lists and getting excited: the rankings are based on revenues NOT profits, or cash flowing back to the owners. Case in point: Carver National Bank (NYC) is the ranked the top Black Owned Bank........based on revenues...BUT, it's in severe financial trouble.

In other words, you need to compare some of the BE companies to white companies to see where we stack up in terms of power/economic resources and influence.

-Just because your company has 800 million in revenues, doesn't mean that you're worth 800 million or the owner pulled in 800 million.....depending on the corporate structure and ownership %....the owner probably pulled in a fraction of that.

Case in point, I have a client/good friend whose company pulls in a couple million/year...he's not a millionaire though..not even close.

The point is that this Brotha is one Bad Motha...no doubt about that, he ain't broke by damn sight either....BUT we need to look at this in terms of who his company ranks compared to the ones that dominat our corporate landscape and where we have to go to bring ourselves up to par...so that BLACKS have corporate power like whites do...then we can do some serious damage.

-The collective revenues of the firms on the BE industrial/service 100s topped the $10 billion mark for the first time, moving up from $8.7 billion in 1999 to $10.9 billion in 2000. If you were to combine those firms into ONE company, it would rank 176 on the Fortune 500 list.

Let me repeat myself, the collective earnings of the industrial/service BE 100 (the largest sector in terms of revenue) would rank 176 on the Fortune 500 list of the nations biggest companies.

You realize that they are people whose networth is MORE then 10.9 Billion or who are worth at least 10% of it? Like say..most of the Forbes 400 (list of wealthiest americans).......

-Besides Oprah & Bob Johnson (who will be on this years Forbes List as the First Black Billionaire) there aren't any other Blacks on the Forbes 400 list. NONE of the cats who own these BE 100 companies have made it yet.

What I'm trying to say here, is that we should definitely hold our heads up high and be proud of what these Black Men and Women have accomplished.....but let's realize how far we have to go....AND realize the problems that these people have had along the way due to Racism.

I've gone on Interviews and been called a straight up Liar, because "there is just no way I could've done all the stuff on my resume" funny....I have white colleagues who are rather precocious themselves......and they never hear that.

Let's also look at the 107k wealth difference between middle Class Blacks & Whites.

Finally, let's think about what we'll do when we get that power.

While some of our financial problems are our own fault, while some are due to Racism....we still have a long way to go regardless. It's a statement as to the amount of wealth in this country when a 800 million dollar tech firm, is not a juggernaut by any means....a "boutique" tech outfit would be a more accurate discription...I will say that it compares favorably with a Rational Software(Ticker Symbol: RATL)..they have roughly the same revenues....but Rational is considered a small "niche" company...not a juggernaut.

I think perspective is important because it keeps us from patting ourselves on the back too much and getting complacent and/or not realizing where we have to go. I didn't grow up poor, I went to a good school and I'm doing well now...a lot of the financial barriers Blacks face...haven't hurt me. So should I get Myopic and declare everything ok? NO! A white person with half my income and a worse credit rating has a better shot at getting a house loan...of the same amount! Now take that problem and multiply it 10x, that's what it's going to be like for me to get VC.

One of the largest Web Site tracking firms, was started by a Black Man and a White Man in Atlanta.....the Black man was the one with the Businesses savvy and the one who made the Business work. BUT, the White Guy was put in place as CEO because it was hard to get Funding with the Brotha as CEO. (even though the Brotha was the CEO behind the scenes) Later on the company had a big IPO, and merged with another company. The white guy become a New Media darling, made all kinds of connections and was able to become a Venture Capitalist, and start other Businesses.

The Brotha struggled to get funding for his new venture.

Anyway, there was an Article on it in the Times a few months back.....I'll dig it up.

In other words, there are still barriers to capital....there are still barriers to success....and saying that it's over because of some companies that are microscopic compared to their white counterparts is a bit pre-mature.

I can say that those barriers haven't stopped me, but what about the people they do stop? We've done a tremendous job so far, but we have a long ways to go.



Peace,




M2


P.S. I was the one who said that his indian colleagues pick jobs that pay well, in interests of helping family.....the idea is to pass on generational wealth.......not poverty to your kids.