‘Black Capitalism’ Promised a Better City for Everyone. What Happened?

A forgotten legacy

Today, there are no grand monuments to Franklin Florence or the company he helped create. Eltrex’s original factory building was damaged in 2010 after a vehicle smashed into the first floor and burst into flames. The vehicle’s occupants were killed in the crash, and the building was demolished.

“If you walk down the street in Rochester, not many people know who Franklin Florence is, and I think that is a crime,” said Ms. Hill, the historian. “Whether you love or hate him, he is an important figure.”

Even today, there is debate about Eltrex’s legacy. Mr. Augustine, the former C.E.O., said he regretted that he was not able to grow the company’s customer base before Xerox and Kodak began to struggle. But he often found that other companies were not sincerely interested in engaging Black-owned businesses, but only looking like they were.

Kodak filed for bankruptcy in 2012, while Xerox restructured its business, which resulted in a series of large layoffs at its Rochester facilities. Mr. Augustine said some of Eltrex’s assets were sold and its employees transferred to Cannon Industries, a metal fabricator and one of the other large minority-owned businesses in Rochester.

“Could we have done more? Yes,” said Mr. Augustine. “But I am proud of what we accomplished.”

Mr. Jackson said that Eltrex failed to adapt to life beyond Kodak and Xerox and that its problems should not be blamed on racism. “I have to reinvent myself every five years or I die,” he said.

For his part, Franklin Florence said he had hoped the original concept of Fighton could have been expanded. He urged the protesters who are pushing to end systemic racism today to keep up the pressure.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/12/business/rochester-black-companies-eltrex.html