Still, percentage lags overall population, and most firms lack employees. More improvement will benefit everyone.

A recent report that shows a sharp rise in the number of black-owned businesses in Greenville County has a mixed message: Progress is being made, but much work needs to be done.

The good news in the latest numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau is that the number of local businesses owned by blacks has grown 62 percent since 1997 (1,988 in 2002, up from 1,228). That shows more people in the county's black community are creating opportunities for themselves. Still, that growth is tempered by the fact that just 141 -- or 7 percent -- of black-owned firms have employees other than the owner.

It's clear there is room and a need for more African-American businesses in this community. Just 8.2 percent of businesses in the county are owned by blacks, who make up 18.3 percent of the overall population.

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"It's not where it used to be," Timika Nesbit of the Greater Greenville Chamber of Commerce told Greenville News writer Jenny Munro. "It's not where it needs to be. But we're getting there."

Continuing to improve the numbers requires a communitywide emphasis encouraging African-Americans to turn their ideas into businesses. It also will require an emphasis on business ownership as we educate children in the black community and a willingness in the community at large to patronize black-owned businesses.

Like all small business owners, African-Americans also need access to capital. The Urban League of the Upstate helped by recently hosting a workshop to introduce a Small Business Administration loan program for small and minority-owned businesses. The group hopes to conduct an annual workshop. Programs like that are welcome.