Business Person and Grand Rapids Native Clifford McClain
Mr. Clifford McClain is originally from Grand Rapids, but relocated to North Carolina. He is the owner and CEO of Regenerative Community Builders, which is a 501©3 that is now accepting tax contributions for a film project by Grand Rapids native and independent film maker Dante James. In this interview with the GR Times he discusses his roots in Grand Rapids, the challenges he faced as a minority business owner, supporting a film project and more.
GRT: Tell me about your roots in Grand Rapids.
McClain: I was born on Jefferson Street and lived on Lafayette most of my life. My family and I moved to College Street in the late 1960's and my parents moved to Hudsonville in 1976 and I kind of stayed behind in the city with my siblings. My parents were the first Blacks to move to Hudsonville and they had some of the nicest neighbors that I have ever met.
GRT: When did you leave Grand Rapids?
McClain: I left Grand Rapids in 1995. I actually had a construction company in the city and we received several awards. I did a lot of work construction work in Grand Rapids through my construction company McClain's Construction Company. I left to move to a warmer climate and because the things that I was going through as a minority business owner wasn't normal for any man to have to go through. So I took the opportunity to open up a business in the South. I actually thought the South was a little more progress at the time but running a business still wasn't as difficult as it was in Grand Rapids.
GRT: What made owning a business in Grand Rapids difficult?
McClain: What made it difficult was the lack of opportunities and they were not really allowing us to grow to our full potential and things haven't changed much for Blacks in Business even today. That was one of the things that drove me to move away from the city and because I didn't want my kids to suffer a lot of the things that I had seen other people going through with their kids.
GRT: Why did you pick Charlotte, North Carolina to start your business?
McClain: One day I was riding in my car and I think that God told me to relocate there. My family and I went on vacation and we stopped through Charlotte and it was a really nice place. I started doing some research and everything was 'yes'. I just really felt like God was in it and things really started working for me. You had to work for it overall but it was here for the taking. If you had the talent and you could do it, then it was up to you to get it done. There were places here in the south that were not providing opportunities like in South Carolina at that time, but North Carolina has been good to me.
GRT: How did you get into the construction business?
McClain: My father whose name was Jim McClain owned a construction company and taught me everything that I know. My father taught us all how to operate in construction. He always owned homes and we would have to go and do repairs, so growing up in that environment we had to do construction and my Dad taught me business.
GRT: What degree did you receive and what college did you attend?
McClain: I got a degree in scenic design, which is setting up stages and I also went to school for engineering. I did some time at GRCC and then I went to Michigan State University for a few semesters and that was the end of it. My dad got sick and I had to come home so I ended up working with him. I worked with him and then opened up my own business in 1984. Back then, the state had programs for minorities and I went to a college almost every winter. They had programs that were run through a community college or through a university. They had programs like accounting, learning how to scale, blue print reading and other skill set classes. I don't think that there is anything like that available anymore. of them just being businesses. One of the things that did help me was getting a contract with the gas company, because I was working with Mich Con out of Detroit and that allowed me to grow and be able to create jobs for the community. In North Carolina there are opportunities throughout the state. I think that they are doing a great job with a lot of the programs that have in place for growing minority businesses. Having a business in Charlotte was the reverse of what I experienced in Grand Rapids. If I needed something, the resources are available and they helped me actually scale my business. I was able to draw from HBCU's here and even employ interns today.
GRT: How did you get affiliated with Dante James and his film project?
McClain: Dante and my brother were good friends. I actually had heard about his film project and I called him and asked him what I could do to help him make it a reality because of what I experienced back then and how hard it was. They were relentless. I had owed some money to a bank and they did everything that they could to keep me from staying in business. Pastor Dennis McMurray introduced me to a very good banker named Jan Par and it became a different experience because things started changing and it was time to move on. There are opportunities in Grand Rapids, but they are limited opportunities for minorities in business and it is still like that even today. It is almost as though there is another class for minorities businesses instead of being a just a business. So I wanted to do whatever I could to support his efforts to complete this film project.
Anyone seeking more information can email Dante James at dante@blackpearllmw.com. Please make check or money order contribution payable to Regenerative Community Builders Inc. The mailing address is Regenerative Community Builders Inc. 2222 W. Grand River Ave. STE A. Okemos, MI 48864. Contributions can also be made via:
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