For centuries, Charleston has been home to a vibrant Black business community.
As a first generation Charlestonian, I don’t really know the local history of Black business – a friend recently told me the late Dr. Hoffman, one of the more prominent Black physicians of my era, had his office at Vanderhorst and Smith streets some 50 years ago.
It said, “A strong entrepreneurial spirit among Black Americans has spurred the creation of untold numbers of Black owned businesses going back centuries and, at certain times in history, has resulted in thriving communities of enterprise such as the ‘Black Wall Street’ of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the bustling Shaw neighborhood of Washington, D.C. However, today, Black-owned businesses on the whole lag behind the average U.S. firm in terms of size and revenue.
When I first started this newspaper gig, the Charleston Business and Professional Association was among the premier local Black business organizations.
Here’s some of what I wrote: “The association had its beginnings in the late 1950s with a small group of black business owners meeting over breakfast at the old Ladson House Restaurant.
