As 2009 draws to a close, it’s safe to say that the year will be remembered as one of the most challenging in recent memory. However, 2009 will also be remembered as a year of renewed hope and determination, when we regained the courage to confront the challenges we face. This hope springs from the single most significant event of my lifetime: the historic presidency of Barack Obama. What most of us thought was all but impossible only a few years ago is now reality, and I am personally grateful that I’ve lived to witness it. The leadership of President Obama marks the singular difference between the sense of helplessness that characterized the collective psyche of America this time last year, and the sense of capability now being felt across the nation and around the world. I believe this is the chief reason the Nobel Committee selected President Obama to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway, this month. Thanks to Obama’s election, Americans once again believe that we can be anything and do anything, and that we are more than equal to the adversity we face. The past year has been an incredibly challenging one for media companies, and Black Enterprise has been no exception to the rule. I am more proud than ever of the quality of our media properties and events, and the employees who produce them, each of whom have fought tooth and nail to deliver the trusted information, proven strategies, first-class services, and indispensible inspiration
our audience has come to rely on. As a result, we are poised to enter 2010–the 40th anniversary year for Black Enterprise magazine–stronger, better, and more focused than ever on our mission of helping you to build and sustain your personal prosperity, career success, and entrepreneurial dreams. I am personally thankful to you for being as passionate as we are about the need for us to continue to serve our mission. However, that spirit of hope and determination must be balanced with a clear recollection of the tough lessons we’ve all had to learn these past two years. We must not return to the reckless spending that exposed so many of us to financial devastation when the economy veered into recession. And while entrepreneurs are anxious to resume the hiring and capital investment necessary to grow their businesses, they must continue to remain mindful of controlling costs, managing cash flow, and investing only in those things that will position their companies to thrive in a still unpredictable post-recession economy. The bottom line: we must not allow our burgeoning sense of hope to boil over into–in the now immortal words of former Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan–”irrational exuberance.†The battle cry that swept Obama into the White House was not “Yes, He Canâ€; it was “Yes, We Can.†The resurgence of America’s can-do attitude requires each and every one of us to carry it out. I again urge you to make the effort to help that friend, neighbor, laid-off co-worker, or family member in need of employment with a job referral or a recommendation. Go out of your way to direct your holiday spending to support those businesses, especially those owned by black entrepreneurs that provide jobs and economic vitality to our communities. Make outreach to the most vulnerable in our communities, including children and the elderly, part of your holiday tradition. Set an example of what the Christmas season is really all about–acts of love, kindness, giving, and selflessness–and adopt that example as a way of life for your household in 2010 and beyond. On behalf of Black Enterprise and the Graves family, I wish you and yours a blessed Christmas and a New Year of realized hopes and prosperity.