The following is from National Today:
Black Business Month is celebrated in August — it’s a time to acknowledge and appreciate black-owned businesses across the nation and all that they represent in the country’s continual striving for diversity and equality. Denise Moore, CEO of the Black Business Alliance in Peoria, Illinois, has this to say about the importance of Black Business month: “Black Business Month is exciting because it gives us an opportunity to focus on a community that is far too often underrepresented when it comes to access to capital and opportunities to build wealth.”
When we celebrate the contribution of black business owners and entrepreneurs, it pays homage to them and their legacies, especially since celebrating this month recognizes the importance of black-owned businesses when it comes to contributing to the nation’s economy as well. Approximately 10% of all American businesses are black-owned, and if we look at what statistics say about minority-owned businesses, about 30% of these would belong to black business owners. The primary sectors in which black-owned businesses operate include health care, social work, repair and maintenance, beauty salons, restaurants, and more. Black businesses across the country are booming and on the rise, with Washington D.C. having the highest ratio of black-owned businesses, a whopping 28%. These business also have an important role to play towards supporting student and education by giving funds towards scholarship of African American Students.
How to Observe Black Business Month
- Show your support: Use Black directories on the internet to guide you to black-owned businesses for your daily needs or any car repair work or fine-tuning that needs doing. This can help you shop local when it comes to small businesses owned by Black people. You can also follow the hashtag trails on social media to follow Black business pages and help them gain a wider reach.
- Read about black entrepreneurship: Support Black entrepreneurs by hearing what they have to say firsthand. There is a ton of literature out there that has been written and read by successful black entrepreneurs and businesspeople, so grab any one and get reading. To help you out, we bring you some of the more popular ones, including, “The Color of Money” by Mehrsa Baradaran, “The Little Black Book of Success” by Elaine Meryl Brown, “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie, and “Everyday Millionaires” by Chris Hogan.
- Try ‘Black Food Fridays’: Look no farther than #BlackFoodFridays on Instagram to be part of the super-cool movement started by Charleston, South Carolina’s writer/activist/innovator — K. J. Kearney. The aim of the movement is simple; to direct peoples’ attention to black-owned restaurants all over the country. The idea is now developing into a business, with apps like ‘EatOkra’ also doing the same.