Atlanta Daily World

Student Says Advertising
A Need of Negro Business

The following paper, which was written to learn to think
In order to improve Negro
Business, we must do that kind of
thinking that will help us
ourselves. Mr. E. St. Elmo I.
of Clark University took first
prize in an essay contest on "How
to Improve Negro Business."
The contest was sponsored by the local
chapters of the Phi Beta Sigma
Fraternity.

"HOW TO IMPROVE NEGRO
thinking that will help us
to Improve Negro Business."
ourselves. Mr. E. St. Elmo I.
in his book, "Getting the most
of Business," said "To think right
is the final test of a man's value;
for it is the necessary start
towards improving Negro Business.
But this thinking must be
creative; it must be unprejudiced.
Most all of the enterprises that
Negroes own and operate fail to
give freedom to self-expression,
fail to give any notable gain and
fail to give adequate means of
living. These things being true, we
have only one hundred and eighty-
three lines of exclusive businesses
among a population of twelve
million Negroes. This is pathetic
when we think of over 25 per
cent of all our race being out of
work. It is left to the race to sug-
gest and find ways in which this
condition may be remedied.

We must reach the place where
we can refer to factories and large
enterprises as Negro businesses
rather than just a few of the so-
called concerns—which were orig-
inally ours from inheritance. But
what can be done?
In the first place we must put
on our thinking caps. Are we low-
er in the animal scale than any
other race? No. Then why let these
things remain so dead about us? If
we are to compete with other
races we must improve our com-
mercial standing as well as our
professional standing. We must
endeavor to open up new avenues
for the unemployed Negro.
In my estimation, there is no problem
facing the Negro so great as that
of unemployment. As a solution to
this problem I suggest "Bigger
and Better" Negro Business, not
that kind that would necessitate
segregation of certain classes in
the social order, but that kind
that would help humanity in gen-
eral.

We look with pride upon such
Commercial Associations as: "The
National Negro Bankers' As-
sociation, Philadelphia, Pa.;" "The
National Negro Business League,
New York City." "The National
Negro Life Insurance Association,
Memphis, Tenn.;" "The Association
of Beauty Culture Schools, Chi-
cago, Illinois;" and the "Colored
Merchants' Association, New York
City." but what are we going to do
for the great mass of Negroes in
the line as shoe makers, chemists
and department stores? We must
as a benefactor rather than a per-
sonal try to serve his fellow man.
Then it comes to my mind that the
reader of this paper would desire
to know where this training might
be obtained. Dr. John Hope, Presi-
dent of Atlanta University, has
opened up the Atlanta University Gra-
duate School of Business in the
South. Even this probably will not
accommodate all of those who are
interested in economics and busi-
ness administration, but it is one
medium by which Negroes may
better their Business career. The
Carnegie Fund of New York City
has just recently given one hun-
dred thousand dollars for the pro-
motion of this phase of training at
Atlanta University.
Then too,
practically all of the Eastern gra-
duate schools that offer commer-
cial training have allowed Negro
students to matriculate. Whether
obtained in the School of Com-
merce, or in the School of Experi-
ence, business of the highest or-
der is absolutely necessary for
success in the commercial field of
today. The men who rule the sci-
entific world must be those trained
in the field of business.

Another method of improving
Negro Business is by cooperation.
This big unit of oneness, and in its
broadest sense, democracy will go
a long ways in improving Negro
Business of every kind. Coopera-
tion has taught the chain store
magnet, that "in union there is
strength," and men who co-
operate know that there is more