Perryman Building & Construction Services is one of the best-known names in construction in the Philadelphia area, with a project list that includes some of the most prominent structures in the city, including the Pennsylvania Convention Center and Lincoln Financial Field, home of the Philadelphia Eagles.
Angelo Perryman, the company president, chief executive and second-generation owner, said he grew up seeing his father, Jimmie, struggle to expand the small home-building operation he started after returning home from the Korean War.
Most builders today, even small ones, take for granted the availability of a line of credit, because materials have to be bought in advance and subcontractors have to be paid continually. “You have to do the work first, and then you get paid,” Mr. Perryman said.
But in Jim Crow-era Alabama, where the firm began, banks wouldn’t extend credit to the founding Mr. Perryman. “When my dad started the firm in 1954, it was, you build up your own cash cache to self finance. That obviously impacted how much we grow — and don’t grow,” he said.
The impact on Angelo and his two brothers was profound, Mr. Perryman said. “When I was 8 years old, I was laying bricks.” (Both brothers remain on the company’s advisory board but are not involved otherwise.)
After 15 years gaining experience in commercial construction and after the death of his father, Mr. Perryman moved the business to Philadelphia in 1998. He expanded the company significantly, but he said the effects of the discrimination his father suffered linger more than half a century later.
“As it is even now, African American-owned businesses are few,” he said. “African Americans, because they lack access to capital, are impacted deeper” and struggle to grow. “You’re always undersized,” he said, adding that smaller firms have less leverage in negotiating contract terms and guarantees.
Martha C. White
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