Black in Business: The Unstoppable Rise of Two Entrepreneurs Who Made History
Written by Natalie Jenkins. Edited by Yasmeen Mayes.
When you imagine the most successful people in business, what picture comes to mind? Some may consider someone like Oprah Winfrey or Robert Smith, but for the vast majority of Americans, the imagery that coincides with the notion of wealth and success are dominated by white men like Jeff Bezos and Warren Buffett. Like many other corners of American society, the stories and achievements of their Black counterparts who thrived in various industries in spite of the odds stacked against them, are often not given the same recognition. Interestingly enough, research from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor revealed that between 2014 and 2018, 20% of the Black U.S. population were business owners.
Although there has been a significant increase in the number of black-owned businesses, many of which were founded or led by women, this entrepreneurial mindset is not new when you consider the history of Black people in America. We have a long track record of building, innovating, and creating, oftentimes in direct opposition to the oppression we have faced in this country.
There are so many examples that we can bring to the forefront as we consider Black entrepreneurship and its influence. There are Madame C. J. Walker and her hair empire, or Reginald Lewis, the first African American to build a billion-dollar company. Then there are small businesses owned and operated by Black Americans, like the thriving businesses on Black Wall Street in Tulsa, Oklahoma before the hub was violently burned to the ground.
While many of these examples probably ring a bell, few may be acquainted with the stories of Charles R. Patterson and Junius G. Groves.
If you were asked to name the first Black-owned and operated automobile company, I imagine many of you might be at a loss for words. C.R. Patterson & Sons was founded by Charles R. Patterson, who was born into slavery on a plantation in Virginia in 1833. Patterson eventually made his way to Greenfield, Ohio as a free man where his small business was born in 1873.
Making a name for himself as a blacksmith and in the carriage-making industry, Patterson became known as a reliable producer of quality products. He teamed up with JP Lowe, a white carriage-maker in their town, and ultimately became the sole owner of their company, renaming it C.R. Patterson & Sons in 1893. Though only a few of the businesses that were established during the Age of the Automobile still exist today, Patterson was well respected in his community.
The legacy Patterson began lived on through his son Frederick, who took over the business when his father passed. A leader in his own right, Frederick also had many accolades to his name and was both the first Black student to graduate from the local high school and the first to play on the Ohio State University football team. He was even a member of the National Negro Business League, which was founded by Booker T. Washington in 1900.
C.R. Patterson & Sons originally provided services related to repairing and restoring carriages, but when the workers became more familiar with engines and drivetrains, they were able to offer more advanced services. The Patterson-Greenfield automobile was released in 1915, a move that made Black history. Their time as manufacturers was unfortunately cut short as it became a challenge for small in-house companies to keep up with the production lines of larger companies.
C.R. Patterson returned to their focus on repairs and restorations, however when the Great Depression settled, the business took a hit that it could not recover from. Frederick’s sons, who were the owners at the time, had to make the decision to close altogether after 74 years in business. To this day, C.R Patterson & Sons remains the only Black-Owned and operated automobile company.
Another Black entrepreneur to make history was Junius G. Groves, one of the most affluent Black men during his time. Born into slavery in 1859 in Kentucky, Groves later relocated to Kansas during the Exoduster Movement where he would establish himself as a successful self-taught farmer. He became a sharecropper and a landowner shortly after marrying his wife, Matilda, in 1880.
With land of his own, Groves was able to produce his own potatoes at a record-breaking rate, earning him the title “Potato King of the World” by 1902. He spent 46 years investing in his understanding of the science behind agriculture, but it was just the beginning of his success and wealth. Groves possessed more than 500 acres of land at the peak of his career.
Groves bought and shipped a variety of produce throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico. His family even owned a general store along with stock in mines, banks, and the Kansas City Casket and Embalming Company. With his ventures, Groves eventually surpassed most of his white counterparts in Kansas financially.
In addition to building his own legacy, Groves founded and co-founded organizations such as the Kansas State Negro Business League, the Pleasant Hill Baptist Church Society, the Kaw Valley Potato Association, and the Sunflower State Agricultural Association. He was intentional about providing opportunities to African Americans by hiring them for work on his farms. Groves also founded an African American community, Groves Center, along with an African American golf course which many believe to be the first of its kind.
Black entrepreneurship is a form of resistance. It is a way to fight back. It is creating our own tables at which to sit. It is building a world in which our children believe they can excel in any capacity that they wish. Let us all be intentional about uplifting those who blaze trails across industries, making room for Black Americans to thrive.
This is the third article in an eight-part Black History Month series, Celebrating our Past, Present, and Future featured in the publication The Chronicles of Black History and Culture.
