An Urban League anti-poverty plan; Minority businesses key to helping poor

• Originally published in the Plain Dealer (Cleveland) February 18, 2005

 Copyright 2005 Plain Dealer Publishing Co.

By: James Ewinger, Plain Dealer Reporter

Census figures framed the problem of Cleveland poverty. The Urban League of Greater Cleveland hopes to define a solution.

Myron Robinson, president of the local chapter, said Thursday that the raw material is here, in the black community.

Blacks have $2.2 billion worth of spending power in the city and about $4.5 billion countywide, he said. But most of that money flows out of the city, and out of the black community.

The solution he discussed is the cornerstone of a national Urban League policy: Create an economic base by which the urban poor can lift themselves into the middle class, into political power and true independence.

He said that Cuyahoga County has the greatest concentration of minority-owned businesses in the state: 3,474. But six out of seven, or roughly 3,000, have no employees except for the self-employed owner-operator.

He said the top five minority-owned businesses have a combined revenue of $332 million, but more than half of that belongs to a single business – a string of McDonald’s franchises.

“Our data suggest that the minority communities are underserved by minority businesses, especially in retail and in the service sectors,” Robinson said. “In other words, we take our billions of dollars to Cleveland Heights, Shaker Heights and Beachwood, and other places outside our community.”

Robinson called the economic empowerment of the poor “the last phase of the civil rights movement.” But he warned that this may be the most difficult struggle because there are no charismatic leaders such as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., no lead stories on the 6 p.m. news or headlines in the newspaper.

Robinson spoke at the headquarters of Medical Mutual of Ohio, which provided a venue in celebration of Black History Month.

After his talk, Robinson said he was not advocating an insular, racially exclusive economy. He agreed with Ron Brown, former secretary of commerce and chairman of the Democratic National Committee, who said the black community should not advocate blacks voting only for blacks.

Just as Brown said that black politicians should reach out to white constituents, Robinson said black businesses should reach beyond black neighborhoods, drawing money from the suburbs to the city.

The Urban League of Greater Cleveland is uniquely poised for such a multicultural quest. Robinson said that last year, Ohio’s Department of Development designated the Urban League the small-business center for Cleveland and Cuyahoga County.

The Urban League’s center gets federal money funneled through the state agency. The local center is part of a national partnership among private, public and nonprofit organizations.

Robinson said the local chapter is supported by major corporations, local banks and other institutions.