We’re happy to see that there is a month dedicated to supporting Black-owned businesses. This commemorative month, focused on supporting Black businesses across the nation and in our communities, is one more welcomed step in our country’s striving for diversity and equity.
According to an article at National Day Calendar, “Historian John William Templeton and engineer Frederick E. Jordan Sr. founded National Black Business Month in August 2004 to ‘drive the policy agenda affecting the 2.6 million African-American businesses.’”
According to the article, the categories of Black-owned businesses cover a very broad field including health care, repair and maintenance, personal services, advertising firms, auto dealerships, restaurants, beauty salons, barbershops, banks, insurance companies, consulting services, construction companies, clothing and shoes, cosmetics and many more.
We went to the Black Enterprise Magazine for more in-depth information on Black businesses. “The history of Black entrepreneurship can be traced back to the late 1700s — when free and enslaved Black people opened small businesses like barbershops and tobacco outlets. The number of Black-owned firms rose with emancipation and then, despite the times, grew during the early 20th century. From 1900 to 1930, the period was known as the ‘golden age’ for Black-owned businesses. Segregation helped nurture Black-owned districts, including Black Wall Street in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
“There were other pivotal time frames reflecting the spirit of Black Business Month. One was the founding of the National Negro Business League in 1900 by the iconic Booker T. Washington. Now called the National Business League, the organization calls itself America’s oldest and largest trade group for Black businesses. Another stellar moment was the launch of Black Enterprise Magazine more than half a century later. In August 1970, the late Earl G. Graves, Sr., published the magazine’s first issue. It served largely as a guidebook for Black entrepreneurs seeking to launch and grow their companies.”
The article goes on to emphasize the importance of consumers and business owners supporting Black-owned businesses to help them rebound from the pandemic, where 53% of Black business owners saw their revenues fall by 50%, versus 37% of white business owners. Read the full article HERE.
A quick Internet search will provide listings of Black-owned businesses in your vicinity. In addition to those listings, Good Housekeeping Magazine provides a listing of Black-owned businesses of all types.
AMS Fulfillment is a B Corporation, committed to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) in our hiring and promotion. Currently AMS is developing a JEDI Committee, focused on educational experiences and on centering the voices and experiences of minority colleagues to learn with and from, and to foster a work culture that is welcoming, inviting, and inclusive.
We encourage our readers to investigate and locate Black-owned businesses in your area as well as online and buy those new shoes, or repair that car, or get that gorgeous dress, or get that home repair done, or check out that spa, or go out to enjoy dinner in a Black-owned restaurant during the month of August, and beyond.
Check out ten Black-owned B Corporations HERE.