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(404) 978-2052
Project to Study Business and Business Education Among Negroes
1944-1946
6 linear feet
Atlanta University and the National Urban League conducted a research project from February 1, 1944 through February 1, 1946 to study Negro business and business education. Financed by the General Education Board, the project was carried out through cooperative efforts of local chapters of the National Urban League, the National Negro Business League, the National Housing Agency, the National Negro Insurance Association, 23 Negro colleges and universities, the U.S. Bureau of Census, and the U.S. Department of Commerce. The project was administered by Franklin O. Nichols, Southern Regional Director of the National Urban League and the research directed by Dr. Joseph A. Pierce, a professor of Mathematics and Statistics, Atlanta University. The project studied the status of Negro business, its needs, opportunities for expansion, projections for the future, and how well business education at Negro colleges meet the needs and planned for opportunities in business. The project was launched at a conference held at Atlanta University on February 24, 1944. Representatives from selected colleges, government agencies, business enterprises and organizations were invited to meet and discuss how to proceed.
The findings of the project were published in Negro Business and Business Education, Their Present and Prospective Development by Joseph A. Pierce (New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1947). Although the project focused on the period 1944-45, there is an introductory chapter in the book, "The Evolution of Negro Business", that provides an historical overview of Negro business dating from the 18th century.
This collection includes research materials and notes, statistical data, questionnaires, lists of Negro businesses from targeted cities, and information on education programs at Negro schools. Also, there are administrative files of correspondence, memoranda, reports and financial papers pertaining to implementation of the project. A copy of the book is also available in the Archives.