Fall 2026: Entrepreneurship, Opportunity & Generational Wealth
What creates economic opportunity? How do entrepreneurs recognize opportunities others overlook? And what can history teach us about building businesses, creating wealth, and overcoming barriers today?
This fall, students can explore those questions in AFS 125D – Black Economic Entrepreneurialism, an interdisciplinary course connecting entrepreneurship, history, economics, business, and society.
More Than a Traditional Lecture Course...
This course examines how entrepreneurs have built businesses and created economic opportunities despite significant social and economic barriers. Students connect those historical experiences with modern entrepreneurial concepts including opportunity recognition, innovation, business models, value creation, leadership, risk, resilience, and generational wealth.
But there is another dimension that makes this course different:
Students have the rare opportunity to learn entrepreneurship from an instructor who is also an active entrepreneur.
Conversations about starting and growing a business aren't limited to theories and textbooks. Students can explore academic concepts alongside real-world perspectives on identifying opportunities, developing products, marketing, negotiating, financing, taking risks, responding to setbacks, and making business decisions.
It's where academic learning meets entrepreneurial experience.
What Will You Explore?
Throughout the semester, students will examine:
- Entrepreneurship and its historical roots
- Generational wealth and economic mobility
- Opportunity recognition and entrepreneurial thinking
- Barriers to business ownership and access to capital
- Innovation and competitive advantage
- Business models and value creation
- Risk, resilience, leadership, and decision-making
- The economic and social impact of entrepreneurship
Students also move beyond traditional papers and exams. The Spotlight Pioneer Reflection Project challenges students to examine an entrepreneur's journey and connect lessons about resilience, opportunity recognition, innovation, business models, leadership, and risk to their own thinking and future goals.
The learning experience can extend beyond the traditional classroom through experiences such as BLACK WATCH, which connects film, culture, identity, decision-making, and course themes through a discussion-driven cinematic experience.
You don't have to be a business major—or an entrepreneur!
Students interested in business, history, economics, Africana Studies, innovation, leadership, social impact, or simply understanding how economic opportunity and wealth are created are encouraged to consider the course.
Fall 2026 Course Information
CRN: 43705 | 3 Credits
Hawk Hall | Room 106
Aug.24–Dec. 9, 2026
Study the history. Understand the barriers. Recognize opportunity. Explore how businesses and wealth are built.
Experience a classroom where academic ideas meet the perspective of someone actively navigating entrepreneurship in the real world.