At the policymaking center of this entrepreneurial activity that swirls like an out-of-control tornado, is Johnathan Holifield, the Vice President of Inclusive Competitiveness at NorTech, a Cleveland, Ohio tech-based
economic development powerhouse covering 21 counties in northeast Ohio. Holifield is the only man in America with a solid solution to the economic crisis of “inclusion” that America faces as the Innovation Economy threatens to leave behind nearly one-third of the nation’s population, namely black and Hispanic Americans.
Currently, all black-owned businesses in the U.S. produce less than 1 percent of the nation’s GDP. Add in Hispanic-owned businesses and the total is less than 3.5 percent GDP. Given the rapid “browning” of America as the racial demographics shift, the nation is challenged with the unprecedented need to find a way to empower growing black and Hispanic populations to produce more successful high-growth businesses. Such productivity is essential to job creation and to bolster the global economic competitiveness for the nation. Holifield is the architect of “Inclusive Competitiveness,” a visionary framework that may soon become the bipartisan adopted North Star for a nation staring at an economic imperative that is forcing a rapid transition from the obsolete exclusionary economic tactics and frameworks of the 20th century.
Holifield is America’s leading tech-based economic expert. And yet, he remains hidden from black America. He works in the same city as the head of the Congressional Black Caucus. His work informs policymakers, education leaders, investors, philanthropy and numerous thought leaders and power brokers across the nation. Beyond the work of 20th century social justice and Civil Rights organizations in America is Holifield’s vision of a 21st century landscape of Inclusive Competitiveness. His efforts are gaining policy traction from the White House to Silicon Valley. And he is single-handedly moving the entire field of tech-based economic development and influencing philanthropic impact investors from coast to coast.
Yet, black America knows nothing about this 21st century economic prophet or his vision.
Black Journalists: Missing in Action
Today, the stories of black Americans leading the nation into the 21st century and a new era of technology and innovation are missing from the stories and images in the so-called “mainstream” media that largely influence the nation’s perception of black Americans, in particular black males. Yet, while every black journalist would eagerly support the idea that “we” (black media professionals) must tell the stories of our people without reliance upon others to do so, the evidence reveals that most journalists lack awareness of today’s landscape to fully understand where a plethora of historic stories are occurring that need to be told, in particular those connected to the economic impact of policies. The result is a void left in the storytelling landscape that is quickly filled with the dirt of sensationalism, stereotypes and salacious infotainment that appeals to the ravenous appetite of a hungry American audience. A positive story or two, and a revelation here and there, fail to make any impact upon the solid ground that’s filled, from coast to coast, with media influence shaping the overall image and perceptions of black America.
Today, black journalists have an opportunity unlike any other time in history to tell our stories to the broadest possible audiences. But we must know our history, the one being made today.
Black Americans are making significant contributions to the continued success of this nation in ways that continue to go unnoticed. Some black-owned media, like Black Enterprise magazine and the network of properties owned by Radio One, have skimmed around the edges of this new frontier. But no media have a dedicated focus to the large landscape of black innovation. Consider the enormous amount of knowledge being lost because we are failing to tell our own stories.
Think of the void as an opportunity for enterprising reporters, editors and media entrepreneurs to capitalize upon the opportunity to inform a nation that isn’t familiar with who we are. Of course, if we don’t tell the nation about us, the nation will surely tell us about us. And how well has that dynamic worked for us throughout media history?
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