State-Of-Black-Oregon-2015

CASE STUDY 15SUCCEEDING AGAINST ALL ODDSIN SOUTHERN OREGONAself-described “little, small, Blackwoman,” Julie Grey maintains a largepresence in Southern Oregon. Thetiny Black population, old boys’ clubatmosphere in the business community andsmall but vocal White supremacist presencehaven’t stopped her from succeeding as theowner of the only Black-owned constructionbusiness in town. Julie says, “If I can make ithere, I can make it anywhere.”Her company, Complete Home Repairs &Remodels, covers two counties—operatingout of Jacksonville, a small suburb of Medfordand Ashland. Julie is also involved with theOregon Commission on Black Affairs, theMedford Chamber of Commerce, the WomenEntrepreneurs of Southern Oregon and theDepartment of Transportation and FederalHighway Administration’s Workforce and SmallBusiness Advisory Committee.Being so involved, she makes it a point tosupport Black-owned start-ups. Most ofthe Black population in Southern Oregon isconcentrated in Ashland, as part of the AshlandShakespeare Festival. As a result, there’slittle support for Black businesses, and manyclose down within a few months. “There’s noleadership development,” she says. “There’sno business organization that addresses ourparticular needs as a minority group strugglingto grow a microbusiness into a small business.”In particular, she’s had trouble obtaininggovernment contracts. The vast majority ofpublic works contracts go to two or three largefirms who use the same subcontractors on allof their projects. Southern Oregon Universityis the only institution that has welcomedJulie, despite her efforts to reach out to largercontractors and the City of Jacksonville. “If Igot government contracts, that would let megrow my business. I could do more hiring andshow credibility in being able to do the work ontime and within budget.”Southern Oregon doesn’t put much emphasis onminority women and emerging small businessparticipation. There are no political initiatives toencourage a change in this atmosphere. “Theydon’t have a mandate. They have goals, but theydon’t intend to meet them.”Despite these odds, she manages to keeppushing forward. She participates in variousbusiness organizations, makes a pointof meeting with realtors and has workedhard to build relationships with other smallcontractors. “I’m constantly referring work toa local woman electrician—as she does to me.I make connections with other contractors sothat they can make referrals to me in areaswhere they don’t work.”Her visibility isn’t lost on the White supremacistelements in Southern Oregon. Most notably,Julie made headlines when she stood up to120