Public Policy Research



Changing Lives through Entrepreneurship

part 1 in a two-part series
Written By: Patricia H. Lee
Published In: New Coalition News & Views
Publication Date: August 1, 2005
Publisher: The New Coalition for Economic & Social Change

Adaptation of a presentation at the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Summer Institute at Howard University, June 16, 2005.

I hope all of you noticed that at the front of the conference room where we sat together this morning hangs a portrait of Frederick Douglass, a self-made literary giant and a forefather of the written African-American word. On that portrait is a very poetic statement that I believe applies to our HBCU Summer Institute.

The statement reads: “There is no Negro problem. The problem is whether the American people have the loyalty enough, honor enough, patriotism enough to live up to their own Constitution.”

Those words were written by a man who was self-educated and who did not reap the rewards for his brilliant words and execution. However, we are the beneficiaries of his profound statements.

I ask that each of us stand up and say these words: Everything we need is in this room. Everything we need is in this room.


Economic Detours

What we know about Black entrepreneurship is that our economic history is one of struggle, many accomplishments, and yes, many economic detours. But the future will depend on our stand and our demands that the Constitution be applied equitably and fairly to even an 18-year-old hip hop entrepreneur who sometimes says words you or I would prefer not to hear.

In our history, one example of an economic detour is the Slaughterhouse cases decided in 1873. These cases were a shameful illustration of the U.S. Supreme Court refusing to apply constitutional principles to the state of Louisiana’s grant of a monopoly to one company, at the expense and disenfranchisement of every black butcher in the state of Louisiana.

Surprisingly, these early cases form the foundation of licensing laws that can, at their best, protect public health, safety, and welfare. But at their worst, licensing laws serve to protect the few privileged from the many who might have chosen to be in that occupation. Today, we operate under some of the same antiquated legal thinking that stifled entrepreneurship in 1873.

Anyone who knows me well knows that I enjoy advocating on behalf of entrepreneurs and students who want to learn about and engage in entrepreneurial activities. I believe it is a very noble and honorable goal to aspire to become self-sufficient and create opportunities for his or her family and community. What better American pastime is there?

In 1982, I graduated from Northwestern University School of Law and received a fine education from an institution that ranked in the top 10 of law schools in the country. However, when I started in the corporate legal department at McDonald’s Corporation in the early 1980s, I realized that the thrust of my legal education was litigation. We were taught about legal cases, conflicts, litigation, and resolution. What we were not taught was how to be a corporate counsel for a business or how to create win/win transactions for business. I had to learn that myself!

So as I met this unique opportunity--working for a growing franchise company--head-on, I heeded the words Booker T. Washington delivered at the National Business League in 1900. He said,

“It is easily seen that if every member of the race should strive to make himself the most indispensable man [I quietly thought “or woman”] in his community, and to be successful in business, however humble that business might be, he would contribute much [“the value proposition”] towards smoothing the pathway of his own and future generations.”

Times are different now--and better--for law and business students. It has become apparent that law schools can no longer just teach lawyers to sue and business schools can no longer just teach business students to manage. If we don’t start teaching entrepreneurship, in every sense of the word, kiss the American experiment goodbye. Rather than leading in the year 2050, our great grandchildren may well be following someone else’s lead for their family’s self-sufficiency.

But don’t look at this phenomenon pessimistically. As Sir Winston Churchill once said, “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” I state here a difficulty with our failure to lead with innovation and entrepreneurship, but hence lay the opportunity. The optimist in me says it is time for us to stand up and lead on entrepreneurship. We have the honor, the patriotism, and the loyalty, and everything we need to begin is in this room.


Life-Changing Service

Over the years, I have represented the most amazing clients. They have been inspirational, innovative, resilient, and persistent. Each in their own way has developed a product, service, or idea and is pursuing the American dream.

One early female client wanted to rehab houses. We met her in the office with her cell phone, her child, and her tools, and we heard her story, one that few others apparently took the time to listen to.

She wanted to engage in construction projects--work with “the guys” and rehab houses. Over the years, students and I saw this client self-actualize.

I’ve had clients tell me I saved their life, when I thought all I was doing was practicing law. Your efforts on behalf of entrepreneurship benefit the entrepreneurs in extraordinary ways and may well be unquantifiable.

Everything you need begins with you.

I appreciate your attentiveness, especially right after lunch, and I look forward to working with each and every one of you in the near future.

Patricia H. Lee, Esq. (niue@comcast.net) is president and general counsel of the National Institute for Urban Entrepreneurship.