Books

A Plan Biden-Harris Administration Needs to Consider for the Revitalization of African American Business Community

Published

5 years ago

August 27, 2020

Specific areas below to support the revitalization of the African American business community during the Biden and Harris era.

1) The Biden administration must place a significant emphasis on capital and loan creation for the African American Community. Institute, at least a $50 billion program to aid African American businesses harmed by the Pandemic and unable to participate in the PPP program. This can be done by extending the existing program and establishing a funding program for African American businesses.

2) More significant support for the Minority Business Development Agency ( MBDA) division of the U.S. Department of Commerce was established to aid minority businesses across the country. They have one of the smallest budgets of any agency, currently $50 million. MBDA’s budget should be doubled to $100 million so that grants and increased technical assistance can be provided. Also, MBDA should assist in identifying capital for minority-owned banks. Provide technical support to HBCU institutions to promote contract opportunities in federal, state/local, and commercial areas. Assist the minority business community in developing greater access for their products and services in international markets, a significant initiative in internet commerce. MBDA should participate in the Small Business Innovate Research ( SBIR) grant program to promote inventions and ideas of the African American community.

3) Increase the percentage of federal contracts available to African American businesses and end the bundling practice of federal and state/local contracts. This activity over the years has limited contracts for African American businesses.

4) Eliminate the contract size standard cap for African American Businesses and increase the number of years of their participation in the SBA’s 8(a) program from nine to twelve years.

5) Create and foster greater participation of African American businesses in the manufacturing sector. This should include programs that promote suppliers of healthcare products and services.

6) Establish a grant funding program to restore small businesses in local communities, i.e., barbershops, salons, restaurants, and small retail operations. These businesses have been the backbone of the economy in the African American Community.

7) Strengthen the tax benefit for investors that partner with African American businesses.

8) Create a long-term capital investment program to support our HBCU community. Provide a matching program for monetary contributions to HBCUs by the federal government.

9) Appoint African Americans to head the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Small Business Administration.

The African American community requires a “Marshall Plan,” today similar to the economic program established after WWll, to rebuild Europe. Our community will need some major financial help at all levels. We need to reconstruct the African American community today and protect our children and future generations

Please VOTE as if your life depends on it because it does.

www.raceforthenet.com to order my book

alwhite@raceforthenet.com

Michelle Snider

Associate Editor for The Post News Group. Writer, Photographer, Videographer, Copy Editor, and website editor documenting local events in the Oakland-Bay Area California area.

Posts by Michelle Snider | Website

Related Topics:Marshall Plan Minority Business Development Agency ( MBDA)raceforthenet

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Michelle Snider

Associate Editor for The Post News Group. Writer, Photographer, Videographer, Copy Editor, and website editor documenting local events in the Oakland-Bay Area California area.

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Advice

BOOK REVIEW: Let Me Be Real With You

At first look, this book might seem like just any other self-help offering. It’s inspirational for casual reader and business reader, both, just like most books in this genre. Dig a little deeper, though, and you’ll spot what makes “Let Me Be Real With You” stand out.

Published

17 hours ago

December 29, 2025

Oakland Post

Book cover of Let Me Be Real With You and author Arshay Cooper. Courtesy of HarperOne.

By Terri Schlichenmeyer

Author: Arshay Cooper, Copyright: c.2025, Publisher: HarperOne, SRP: $26.00, Page Count: 40 Pages

The hole you’re in is a deep one.

You can see the clouds above, and they look like a storm; you sense the wind, and it’s cold. It’s dark down there, and lonesome, too. You feel like you were born there — but how do you get out of the deep hole you’re in? You read the new book “Let Me Be Real With You” by Arshay Cooper. You find a hand-up and bring someone with you.

In the months after his first book was published, Cooper received a lot of requests to speak to youth about his life growing up on the West Side of Chicago, his struggles, and his many accomplishments. He was poor, bullied, and belittled, but he knew that if he could escape those things, he would succeed. He focused on doing what was best, and right. He looked for mentors and strove to understand when opportunities presented themselves.

Still, his early life left him with trauma. Here, he shows how it’s overcome-able.

We must always have hope, Cooper says, but hope is “merely the catalyst for action. The hope we receive must transform into the hope we give.”

Learn to tell your own story, as honestly as you know it. Be open to suggestions, and don’t dismiss them without great thought. Know that masculinity doesn’t equal stoicism; we are hard-wired to need other people, and sharing “pain and relatability can dissipate shame and foster empathy in powerful ways.”

Remember that trauma is intergenerational, and it can be passed down from parent to child. Let your mentors see your potential. Get therapy, if you need it; there’s no shame in it, and it will help, if you learn to trust it. Enjoy the outdoors when you can. Learn self-control. Give back to your community. Respect your financial wellness. Embrace your intelligence. Pick your friends and relationships wisely. “Do it afraid.”

And finally, remember that “You were born to soar to great heights and rule the sky.”

You just needed someone to tell you that.

With a willingness to discuss the struggles he tackled in the past, Cooper writes with a solidly honest voice that’s exceptionally believable, and not one bit dramatic. You won’t find unnecessarily embellished stories or tall tales here, either; Cooper instead uses his real experiences to help readers understand that there are few things that are truly insurmountable. He then explains how one’s past can shape one’s future, and how today’s actions can change the future of the world.

“Let Me Be Real With You” is full of motivation, and instruction that’s do-able for adults and teens. If you need that, or if you’ve vowed to do better this coming year, it might help make you whole.