- 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.