On a cursory level, the Black power movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s, almost instinctively, conjures up images of large Afros, clenched fists, and dashikis. Yet, as the essays in this volume reveal, this period also featured substantive discussion and action regarding African American economic development. Nevertheless, just as the Afro soon gave way to the “Jheri Curl” and other creations of professional hair stylists, notions of supporting Black enterprise, likewise, apparently became outdated. Still, here in the second decade of the twenty-first century, as we observe the ongoing deterioration of many urban Black enclaves, it is clear that Black-power-era discourse surrounding community economic development remains relevant.

Although meaningful public discussions of Black business development have become few and far between, during the late 1960s such discourse attracted a wide audience across racial lines. The Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature (RGPL), a pre-Google index of information, reflects this. Moreover, this same publication documented the rapid decline of Black entrepreneurship as a topic of public discussion and interest.

The RGPL covering the period from March 1968 to February 1969 has no listings for “Black Capitalism” yet contains fifteen listings for “Negro Businessmen.” Moreover, these articles appeared in a wide variety of periodicals, including Ebony, Time, Look, Business Week, Newsweek, Nation’s Business, and Harvard Business Review.

The next issue of RGPL, covering the period from March 1969 to February 1970, features fifteen listings for “Black Capitalism,” seven for “Negro Businessmen,” and nine for “Negro Companies.” This dramatic increase in published articles related to Black entrepreneurship was no doubt linked to the Nixon administration’s creation of the Office of Minority Business Enterprise (OMBE) on March 5, 1969.

Notwithstanding the initial hoopla surrounding OMBE’s establishment, the RGPL indicates that the issue of Black business development quickly receded from the nation’s consciousness (that is, as reflected by magazine article content). For instance, the Reader’s Guide covering March 1972–February 1973 lists only one article each under the categories “Black Capitalism” and “Negro Businessmen.” Moreover, the next issue, which indexes eight pertinent articles published between March 1973 and February 1974, provides a contradictory assessment of the state of Black business in America.