Although nearly half of Philadelphia's population is Black, a new study shows that only 2.5% of Philadelphia businesses are Black-owned.
The Pew Charitable Trusts reports in their 10th annual "State of the City" study that the city of Brotherly Love is failing its Black brothers and sisters miserably.
While 43% of the region is made up of Black residents, the report indicates that only 2.5% of the district's businesses are Black-owned. In contrast, white Americans comprise 34% of its constituents and account for a massive 77% of all business holders.
The report explains that Black-owned establishments account for 1 out of every 40 businesses. Meanwhile, white-owned establishments account for every 3 out of 4.
Philadelphia is reportedly home to over 112,000 businesses. Only 8% of these businesses are publicly held or owned by major corporations but represent at least two-thirds of the entire city's payroll. The remaining third of the area's income purportedly belongs to white business holders.
Black American and Asian American companies make up less than 3% of the city's income. Still, the percentage is significant for Asian entrepreneurs who encompass only 7% of the population, as Philadelphia Magazine described.
The staggering revelation becomes even more vexatious when you contrast the growing wealth and diversity of the city with the stagnant poverty rates. As the city continues to grow at a faster pace than the national average, home prices have increased by 63% since 2010.
Pew reports that 400,000 of the city's residents live in either poverty or deep poverty. According to information gathered from 2017, 27% of Black residents and 38% of Hispanic residents suffer from the lack of monetary stability. In comparison, only 19% of white residents suffer the same financial hardships.
In a city entrenched in Black culture and aesthetics, the study reveals that while there is significant growth in high school graduation, lowered crime rates and lessened jail populations, areas with the strongest increases in wealth belong to the Northeast section of the city. These areas primarily belong to new immigrants and have a median household of nearly $60,000 higher than the country's average. Whereas, Northwest to West Philadelphia has remained inactive or reduced in growth with a median of almost half of the country's average income.
The Pew Charitable Trusts state that the growing contrasts within our country's sixth largest city will not be contained and adequately aborted until the lack of monetary gains among the city's entire population is tackled.
The Enterprise City President Della Clark commented on the newfound data in the Philadelphia Tribune and contributed the issue is not to Black residents but lack of opportunity.
“There’s not a shortage of minority CEOs who don’t want to grow,” said Clark. “That is not the issue in this city. The issue is the resources to grow.”
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