The Black Enterprise Magazine annual list of the top 100 Black businesses for 2003 has been released with total sales of $20.9 billion in 2002. While sales have increased by 3.23% for the largest 100 Black businesses, their total sales is still less than that of PG&E of $22.9 billion. Bank of America does $52 billion in annual sales and Ford Motor Company does $162 billion in revenues.

There were 55 Black owned industrial/service companies and auto dealerships that grossed $100 million or more in 2002. However, none were in the San Francisco Bay Area, the 4th largest metropolitan area in the United States. In fact, there was only one Bay Area firm in the entire BE 100s Industrial/Service firms, Pacific Network Supply of San Jose, who registered #41 at $80 million in sales. Even Ypsilanti, Michigan with 2 firms, indicate more major opportunities for Black businesses than the Bay Area. Alexandria, VA with 4 firms in the top 100s had more firms than the Bay Area and the City of Los Angeles combined. Also, Detroit, with 8 firms, has 1/3 more firms than the entire State of California. While we embrace progress for African American businesses nationally, we need to deal with the economics of “What’s Real” here in the Bay Area and California for African Americans.

Black Enterprise also listed the top Black owned auto dealers, insurance companies, asset managers, banks, investment houses and private equity firms. Bay Area businesses show up on none of these lists! Only Oakland’s Carol H. Williams Advertising, where most of its work is out of State, placed #4 on the 15 BE Advertising Agencies at $130 million.

Twenty years ago, Carol Williams had plenty of company on the list of the top Black companies in the US. Teleport Oil, Thigpen Limited, Scott Concessions, Smith Engineering, Transbay Engineers/Constructors and a plastics manufacturing company in Hunters Point, San Francisco, were all on the BE 100s Industrial/Service firms. There were three Black owned banks in Oakland and San Francisco as well as several auto dealerships. What’s real? African Americans are “loosing ground,” here in the Bay Area.

What’s real? The fate of the landmark University of Michigan Minority Affirmative Action Admissions policy is to be decided this month by the nine US Supreme Court justices, but five of them or their children, as well as President Bush, were admitted to college under the “legacy” policy of just being a son or daughter of an alumnus. The Bush tax cuts provide 43% of their benefits to the wealthiest 1% of Americans, which certainly don’t include Black folks. 21% of the troops that fought in Iraq were African Americans, but African American businesses are expected to get “nothing” in the reconstruction of Iraq. Our 35 million African Americans make more money than the total income (GDP) of Russia, but today 1 million Black children live in extreme poverty. What a paradox. But, it’s “What’s real!”