Necessity as Invention: Entrepreneurial Labor And the Fight for Economic Agency in Atlanta, Georgia

Key Points

• This research explores how Black men in Atlanta engage in necessity entrepreneurship to overcome systemic professional barriers and achieve economic agency.
• Used oral history narrative inquiry to gather qualitative data on the experiences of Black men in Atlanta from the 1950s to the present.
• Analyzed individual accounts to explore how entrepreneurship serves as a strategy for economic self-determination and empowerment.
• Grounded in social justice and critical race theories to highlight systemic issues.
• Necessity entrepreneurship emerged as a key survival strategy for Black men facing racial employment barriers.
• Participants reported using entrepreneurial endeavors to gain economic agency and assert their rights within their communities.
• The findings illustrate a significant link between necessity-driven entrepreneurship and empowerment, enhancing the concept of economic citizenship.

Abstract