Obedience

Opinion | Beyond Obedience: Why Black Business Must Be Rebuilt as Power, Not Performance

By Joseph R. Hudson | Founder, BlacIntellec

Black business ownership is rising. Atlanta is praised as a national hub of Black entrepreneurship. Grants are flowing. Contracts are being won. Black business leaders are gaining visibility.

But we must stop and ask: Is visibility the same as power?

Too often, the answer is no.

We are celebrating the rise of Black businesses while quietly ignoring that many of them are thriving only by obeying rules they had no hand in writing. They are not free—they are functioning within boundaries. They've learned how to survive inside systems that were never meant for them to lead. That is not liberation. That is performance.

Let's break this down.

🧨 The Illusion of Freedom Through Enterprise

Many Black entrepreneurs believe that because their name is on the paperwork, their face is on the billboard, and their product is in the marketplace, they are free. However, ownership without sovereignty is merely a lease masquerading as a title.

You may run the business, but are you free to challenge the system within which it operates?

You may earn revenue, but is your capital being used to build power or to appease pressure?

Suppose your business can't speak too loudly, grow too fast, hire too Many People of Color, or invest too radically. In that case, your business is not truly risk-free. It is tolerated.

And tolerated success is not transformation. It's obedience.

📍 Examples of Obedient Success

Let's name what this looks like in practice:

·       The Silent CEO:A Black nonprofit leader wins funding but stays silent on gentrification to avoid upsetting her mostly white board.

·       The Muralist:A Black artist is paid to paint Black history but told not to speak on current Black injustice.

·       The Developer:A Black real estate developer is awarded projects but discouraged from leasing to too many Black tenants.

·       The Restaurateur:A Black restaurant is celebrated for diversity but warned not to host political or community-centered events.

·       The Consultant:A Black DEI expert lands corporate clients but must erase terms like “structural racism” from her presentations.

·       The University Partner:A Black entrepreneur runs a campus incubator but is restricted from supporting grassroots or justice-oriented ventures.

·       The Retail Brand:A Black fashion founder gains national exposure but is pressured to remain silent on racial justice issues.

·       The Charter Operator:A Black school founder is celebrated for test scores but blocked from teaching unapologetic Black history.

·       The Black Bank:A Black-led bank receives public funding but can’t lend in Black neighborhoods deemed too “high risk.”

·       A Black business group lands corporate sponsorship—but is told not to speak publicly about voter suppression, police violence, or public education.

In every one of these cases, the business is "successful." But its success is conditional.

It thrives not because it's free, but because it has learned how to comply with regulations.

And that adaptation is dangerous because it gets mistaken for freedom.

⚠️ Why This Is More Dangerous Than Open Oppression

The plantation was visible.

Jim Crow was visible.

Redlining was visible.

However, today's control is often hidden in contracts, grant guidelines, zoning commissions, and "public-private partnerships." It hides in language like "inclusive growth," "capacity building," and "community engagement"—phrases that make you feel heard without ever giving you power.

And the most tragic part?

When a Black business owner confuses obedience for empowerment, they become complicit in their containment.

Even worse, they become a model for the next generation, teaching others:

"Just play the game right and you can survive too."

That's not leadership. That's housekeeping on a plantation we don't own.

🛠️ What Must Change

To move from survival to structural power, we must completely reframe the role of Black business. Not as independent hustlers in a marketplace, but as civic infrastructure, as institutions responsible for neighborhood direction, not just neighborhood presence.

Here's what that looks like:

1. Black Business Must Function as Civic Infrastructure

Black businesses must be treated—and treat themselves—not as boutique ventures, but as foundational public institutions.

• They must demand anchor status in city redevelopment zones.

• They must receive pre-development funds to lead neighborhood planning.

• They must be positioned to hire locally, build locally, and reinvest locally—not just operate on the margins.

2. Black Businesses Must Learn to Say No

Saying yes to every partnership, grant, or roundtable is not a sign of strength, it's a sign of dependence. We must begin by saying:

• No to performative DEI invitations.

• No to contracts that silence our civic voice.

• No to being added to boards as a symbol, not a strategist.

3. Black Business Must Fund Its Freedom

We cannot expect others to bankroll our liberation. A portion of every Black business's revenue must go toward:

• A Black Freedom Enterprise Fund

• Black-led think tanks and development corporations

• Political advocacy and civic education

Because if you're not funding your freedom, you're renting someone else's.

4. Black Business Must Educate Beyond Profit

Entrepreneurs must become fluent not just in finance, but in:

• Zoning laws

• Public procurement rules

• Real estate acquisition and land-use policy

• Ballot measures and civic budgeting

This is the real language of power. And if we don't speak it, we'll always be asking for permission.

5. Black Business Must Build a Compact, Not Just a Brand

The MHJ Conclave must be the launchpad for a Black Institutional Compact—a binding agreement among business, faith, education, civic, and philanthropic leaders that includes:

• Shared development goals

• Commitments to ownership, not just opportunity

• Economic protection clauses for Black neighborhoods

• Policy advocacy strategies that hold local governments accountable

🧭 The Hard Truth: Obedience Is Rewarded. But Freedom Is Earned.

Too many Black businesses are being rewarded for staying in line.

They are granted access—but not authorship.

They are present, but not powerful.

They are included, but not at no cost.

The plantation may be gone. But the perimeter remains.

The most radical act a Black entrepreneur can commit today is not just scaling a product but scaling a vision. This vision is one of self-determination, collective ownership, and political independence. It's about not just succeeding within the existing system but reimagining and reshaping it to serve our community's needs and aspirations.

Until we question the structure, we are simply building inside a blueprint that was handed to us.

It is time we wrote our own.

Because Black businesses cannot simply be about Black capitalism, they must be about Black reconstruction.

And it starts now.