Our research study compares the state of Black entrepreneurs in Philadelphia in 1896 to the state of Black Entrepreneurs in Virginia in 2022. Data gathered by W.E.B. Du Bois on the 7th Ward in Philadelphia published in his 1899 classic The Philadelphia Negro is compared to data from survey interviews of Black entrepreneurs in Hampton Roads in 2022. Du Bois notes the second largest birthplace of Black Pennsylvanians was Virginia, with 18.5%. In fact, Du Bois stated to properly study the 7th Ward one had to also study Virginia, which he did in his 1898 “The Negroes of Farmville, Virginia.” What similarities and differences can be found in comparing Black entrepreneurs of 1896 to Black entrepreneurs of 2022? This comparative research was made by possible by a grant and also moral encouragement from the Center for African American Policy at Norfolk State University.

Authors: James Curiel, Ariana Curiel

Published in: London International Conference on Education (LICE-2022)

• Date of Conference: 14-16 November 2022
• DOI: 10.20533/LICE.2022.0018
• ISBN: 978-1-913572-52-5
• Conference Location: Virtual (London, UK)