Both Chin and Lee discussed the necessary role of social networks comprised of one’s ethnic group (although race and religion are ill-defined, with “Korean” and “Jewish” considered mutually exclusive) in the creation and maintenance of employment and entrepreneurship. The issue that Lee discussed at length is one that goes largely unexplained in her article, and one to which further attention should be paid.
In short, Lee explains that the reason African-American small business owners occur in much fewer numbers than their Korean or Jewish counterparts stems from a lack of capital within their coethnic social network and thus no informal way to raise capital. (For example, Koreans rely on a circulating network of credit called the “kye” and Jewish business owners either raise capital from relatives or are apprenticed into the business and sold it on very favorable terms.) I suppose that stems from the trap of poverty and the downward pull of being raised in the slums, all of which are problems specific to the African-American community is great and unfortunate numbers. However, there are similar issues facing almost any struggling minority and thus doesn’t fully explain an entire ethnicity’s complete lack of capital.
Although one can argue that the African-American community began to function independently in a racially and educationally-constricted environment following the end of American slavery, immigrants of the late 19th century may have found themselves in a similar boat. Pre-health codes and regulation (see: Triangle Shirtwaist Factory practices and the ensuing tragic fire), Jewish immigrants came through Ellis Island with minimal protection from state and community, as well as being inhibited by lack of education (many were barely literate in their own language, let alone English) language, and facing discrimination. Further, there is no denying the barriers facing Korean immigrants, who not only suffer the language and education insufficiencies but face the systematic prejudices of any minority in America.
Although Lee makes a compelling case for the direct cause of African-American nonrepresentation in small businesses, she does not delve further into the sweeping and more crucial causes. We can acknowledge that African-Americans are stuck, as she also claims that self-employment is crucial for the overall economic growth of a community, yet we must examine the creation and perpetuation of a cycle if we can ever try to address it.
