Did you know August is National Black Business Month? It is a time to recognize black-owned businesses across the country and to highlight their important roles in our community, as well as to the national economy.
Black Business Month Founders John William Templeton, a historian, and Frederick E. Jordan Sr., a civil engineer, started the national holiday back in 2004 “to drive the policy agenda affecting the 2.6 million African American businesses."
You can simply support National Black Business Month by spending money intentionally. Shop at Black-owned businesses in our community. Post on social media to spread the word about Black-owned businesses. Support causes that support Black entrepreneurs. Make it a habit to intentionally support Black businesses past Aug. 31.
Black business owners account for about 10 percent of U.S. businesses and about 30 percent of all minority-owned businesses, totaling approximately two million companies owned by African Americans, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. But a recent report from the National Bureau of Economic Research showed that number has fallen dramatically since COVID-19, with 41 percent of Black-owned businesses shuttering their businesses because of the pandemic and its fallout, as compared to 22 percent of businesses overall.
Groupon and the National Black Chamber of Commerce recently teamed up for a study of 400 Black business owners and released this graphic with some of their findings:
The majority of Black-owned businesses are in the service industry, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: health care, social assistance, personal, and laundry services, as well as other categories including arts and culture, advertising firms, auto dealerships, consulting services, restaurants, barbershops, beauty salons, and many, many more.
Cynthia Yapp is the publisher of Macaroni Kid SW Miami - Kendall, Fla.
