Did You Know August is National Black Business Month?

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By now you should already know that many of your favorite inventions have been made by Black people. You’re also, probably, well aware that some of your favorite brands are Black-owned (The Lip Bar, Fenti, BET, FUBU, Telfar, West Elm, Salamander Hotels and Resorts, etc.) – we even shared a list of Black-owned restaurants in the Bay Area – but you might not know that August is National Black Business Month. While we should all support minority-owned companies, organizations, products, and nonprofits year-round, let’s do some learning for a minute.

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For the quickest aforementioned history lesson, it it wasn’t even until less than 20 years ago, in 2004, that National Black Business Month was created by historian John William Templeton and engineer Frederick E. Jordan Sr. Their efforts have been made to bring attention to the Black-owned businesses operating across America. The agenda was to create policy and support for the 2.6 million African-American businesses around at that time (For supporting info aside from NBBM tidbits, see pioneers and successes such as Madam C. J. Walker and Ward Moving & Storage Co. and read up on suppressive atrocities like the Tulsa Race Massacre).

Jordan Sr. and Templeton’s advocacy has not been in vain as in just two decades, recent census data shows that there are 3.12 million Black-owned businesses in the U.S., generating $206 billion in annual revenue and supporting 3.56 million U.S. jobs. Let’s also note the necessity to STILL keep supporting and growing black businesses; as taht growth is absolutely amazing, there’s still plenty of inequity with 13.6% of the American population being Black, yet only 2.3% of businesses are black-owned (for comparison purposes, Latinx/Hispanic peoples are close to 19% of the population and own nearly 7% of employer-firms, while Asian-Americans are a little over 6% of the population with almost 11% business ownership – wypipo are close to 76% of the population and, not surprisingly, own 67% of businesses).

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Here are some interesting facts before we get to the taking action part. Not surprisingly, for a culture grown on caring for one another, 41.4% of all Black-owned businesses are within the social assistance and healthcare industries. ATL, D.C., and Richmond rank in the top three cities for Black-Owned businesses.

What are some easy everyday ways ALL Americans can do to support and lead the expansion of BIPOC companies? Peep this helpful list:

• First and foremost, SHOP! Most map apps make it SO EASY to find, review, and share Black-owned businesses
• Review: As with any business, reviews go a long way, especially for the under-represented and supported minority small businesses
• Share: Toss what you loved up on social media or make a public list on Google Maps and send it to friends and tourists
• Year-round: Yes, we’re saying it again as it just doesn’t mean February, Juneteenth, August, and Kwanzaa
• Do a monthly search of Black-owned businesses in your area or set up a Google alert such as “new Black-owned business Oakland”
• Buy gift cards/certificates for friends and family: Not to force your loved ones to shop at the Black businesses you love, but to show them that you love these businesses so much they just might also
• TikTok, Instagram, and Spill are great resources with channels and hashtags directing us to so many Black-owned endeavors for us to check out
• Stay informed in many ways locally (SF Black Biz) and national (U.S. Chamber)

Speaking of ATL, check out this clip from an episode of Killer Mike’s Trigger Warning where he had the hardest time finding a truly Black-owned and fully Black business supported (all products, ingredients, consumables from other Black-owned operators, farms, manufacturers, etc.)

Keep it community, y’all, and SUPPORT if you’d like to see more content like this you can join the BAS Patreon, tip your favorite writer so they can support Black businesses, and donate to Black Connect.