"The Right Man": James A. Jackson and the Origins of U.S. Government Interest in Black Business

Despite the widely held notion that U.S. government assistanceto African American entrepreneurs commenced in the late 1960s,the evidence indicates that government interest in promotingblack business actually began in the 1920s. Beginning with theappointment of James A. Jackson in November 1927, the U.S. CommerceDepartment’s agenda, until the mid-1950s, included "NegroAffairs." Jackson’s actions did not generate the directfinancial assistance to black entrepreneurs associated withsuch later government initiatives as Richard Nixon’s "BlackCapitalism." Nevertheless, Jackson’s pioneering efforts,to provide black businesspeople with useful information, helpedto positively reshape contemporary African American entrepreneurs’beliefs about the role of government in their lives.