For Black people, business has never just been about chasing a bag. It’s always been about chasing freedom. Every shop opened, every contract signed, every storefront claimed has been a declaration of independence in a world that constantly tries to make us dependent.
That’s why the phrase Black business is Black liberation isn’t hyperbole—it’s history. Marcus Garvey knew it. Greenwood proved it. And today’s moguls, startups, and mom-and-pop shops are carrying the torch.
Garvey’s Global Blueprint
When Marcus Garvey launched the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) in 1914, he was radical not just for his fiery speeches, but for his insistence that liberation required economic autonomy. The UNIA created co-ops, newspapers, factories, and even a shipping company—the Black Star Line.
Garvey wasn’t just building a business portfolio. He was building a vision: a self-sustaining global network where Black people could trade with one another, circulate wealth within their communities, and detach from oppressive economic systems that profited off their exclusion…