B. SMITH & DAN GASBY ON BLACK AMERICA

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Style Maven B. Smith and Partner/Husband Dan Gasby:

There are Barriers for African-American Entrepreneurs “Even More so With a Black President”

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 Dan Gasby With B. Smith And Rick Edelman

In a wide-ranging Interview with Ric Edelman, host of public television’s The Truth About Money With Ric Edelman, African-American power couple B.Smith and Dan Gasby unloaded on corporate racism, African-American jealousy, and how having an African-American in the White House has been a mixed blessing.

ON BOARDROOM RACISM IN THE RETAIL INDUSTRY OR WHY B SMITH DOESN’T LOOK LIKE WHOOPI GOLDBERG:

Dan Gasby: “… The things that we heard that America should know – and I won’t go through the individual companies’ names, but you just pick all of the major stores out here – the big names…One company – very prominent company – had 3,000 stores. We’re in a meeting, and we get the feedback. ‘Well…her hair is not right. Can we (change it)?’ ” 

Ric Edelman: “And let me guess, this was a white male making the comment?” 

Dan Gasby: “You won. And to the point that he says, ‘Well I’ve talked to my African-American friends, and she should change her hair.’ And I said, ‘It didn’t hurt Whoopi Goldberg.’ Or another point – or someone says, ‘She doesn’t talk black.’ ” 

Ric Edelman: “So one’s arguing you’re too black. The other one is arguing you’re not black enough.”

Dan Gasby: “You got it.”

B Smith: “How about that?”

ON THE MIXED BLESSING OF HAVING AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN PRESIDENT AND A SAG HARBOR SAGA:

Dan Gasby: “Let me tell you a great story. I gotta tell you this story ‘cause..I never told this story…to anybody on camera or anything. So we’re in Sag Harbor. A guy sees me walking around. He says, ‘Do you manage the restaurant?’ I go, ‘No, I own the restaurant’—( a 400-seat restaurant, the playground of millionaires, $10, $20, $30 million boats there). He goes, ‘You own this restaurant?’ I go, ‘Yeah, my wife and I – we own (it). ‘No, no. You don’t own this restaurant. You own this restaurant?’ I say to him, ‘I got a secret for you.’ He goes, ‘What?’ I go, ‘There’s a black president, too.’ And so… that’s the kinda thing that you deal with.” 

Ric Edelman: “I thought you were gonna tell me that that story goes back 15-20 years, not in the last three.” 

B Smith: “It’s amazing, isn’t it?”

Ric Edelman: “So let me ask you, do you find the barriers still exist the way that they did then?”

B Smith: “Yes, to some degree they definitely exist.”

Dan Gasby: “Even more so with a black president in some cases believe it or not.”

Ric Edelman: “No, explain.”

Dan Gasby: “Well I think there’s been a backlash. I see an attitude that is out there that says well—”

Ric Edelman: “That didn’t exist prior to—”

Dan Gasby: “…It’s still – the question is whether it’s racial or it’s racist. You should be proud of who you are ethnically, and proud of others, but if you put someone down because they’re this or that, then that’s racist…But when you say that person—because they are this somehow is less of a person than who I am—then…that’s where the line has blurred, and that’s where the anger is, and that’s what we see in hospitality.” 

ON JEALOUSY OF FRIENDS, FAMILY, AND AFRICAN-AMERICANS

Dan Gasby: “…The biggest problem that you have when you’re an entrepreneur is that…the people who are closest to you don’t want you to succeed because it reminds them of what they’re not doing. And then like fighters – when they finally become a champion—then everybody already knew you were always gonna be a success. So then they wanna – they’re like a big-time tick that just wants to sit on you and suck your time and your energy, and ultimately they wanna get to whatever you have because they wanna be reminded that well, 'I always knew you were gonna be successful. Never – you know never entered my mind that you weren't [going to be]' when they were really saying behind your back, 'She doesn’t really own [this or that]'"

Dan Gasby: “…Growing up and being black in business and having to deal with your people can be a very tough thing because a lot of them haven’t achieved, and it reminds them of what they didn’t achieve. And some of them would be downright – they just don’t wanna see you succeed.”