w URC To Urge Whites
To Help Black Firms
C2 Greensboro Daily News, Thurs., Feb. 10,1977
The Greensboro Human Relations Commission Wednesday decided to form a committee
to meet with local governments and community organizations to encourage them to patronize black-owned and operated businesses.
The decision came after Richard Bowling,
owner of Cosmos I and Cosmos II and a member of the Minority Business League, outlined
problems his and other black-owned businesses encounter because of racial attitudes.
He said city government, the schools, United Way and other community organizations
usually decline to conduct programs, recreational activities, banquets, school proms and
dances, and other activities in the black community.
He told of his efforts to get schools to conduct proms at the Cosmos and of one instance
where Cosmos offered to allow a Dudley High
School prom at his business for free only to
be refused.
The committee to be formed by the Human
Relations Commission plans to meet with
city, United Way, Chamber of Commerce,
school and other community officials to encourage them to hold banquets, programs,
and other activities in the black community.
Bowling, in an interview after the meeting,
conceded his businesses would benefit from
such an effort. But he said his primary purpose is not only to help his business but to
help other minority business enterprises.
He said the problems he has encountered
trying to get the Cosmos night clubs off the
ground are the same kind of problems othei;
minority businesses encounter. "I didn't startv
out trying to establish a black night club. It's
very tough getting whites or upper class
blacks to come to the Cosmos," he said.
He said whites don't patronize black-owned
businesses because "they aren't used to coming into the black community."
He said the schools won't stage proms and
dances at black-operated businesses because
they fear the white students won't come.
Bowling said integration has hurt black-
owned businesses because blacks now patronize white businesses and feel they are "stepping back" or losing prestige if they go back
to black owned businesses.
The Greensboro Parks and Recreation Department holds various affairs "year after
year" and none "are ever held in the black
community," he said.
"If all city of Greensboro, school and other
citywide affairs are going into the white community, black businesses just can't survive,"
Bowling added.
/ He said one of the main problems is the location of black businesses. Most such businesses can't afford the high rents charged in
the white community or uptown and white
people are afraid to go into the black pr
nity, he said.
He said when integration came and black
families began buying homes in white neighborhoods or blacks started patronizing white
businesses, the white people would leave.
Bowling urged the city of Greensboro and
other agencies to help open up the black community by holding some of their official functions there.
Henry McKoy, executive director of the Human Relations Commission, warned that a
substantial segment of the white community
feels that the racial inequalities of the past
have been eliminated and that the final chapter in bringing about equal opportunity has
been written. He urged the committee to use
care in pointing out that though substantial
progress has been made in eliminating racial
discrimination and providing equal opportunity, there still are problems, such as those
pointed out by Bowling, that haven't been resolved.
