National Black Business Month

By: LaToya Bines

August 13, 2024

For the last 20 years National Black Business Month has given black business owners the opportunity to highlight their accomplishments within the community and to empower fellow black entrepreneurs. In 2004, business owner, author, activist, and engineer, Fredrick E. Jordan along with John William Templeton founded National Black Business Month. When F.E. Jordan entered the into the world of entrepreneurship, funding was limited. To have a dream with minimum resources can break a person’s spirit, but Jordan found a way to start F.E. Jordan Associates, Inc.

The U.S. Department of Commerce stated that black owned businesses are two times more likely to be refused funding over their counterparts. Bank of America conducted a study stating that 44% of black business owners struggled to receive the necessary capital. The entrepreneurship journey comes with its own set of challenges and when racial disparities are added to the mix the journey becomes even more challenging.

In the early 1900’s, a group of black entrepreneurs brought land in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  This Greenwood neighborhood started with a grocery store, barbershop, and doctor office, all black owned.  After some time, the neighborhood became filled with many successful black owned businesses, so much so that the area was known as Black Wall Street.

The representation of so many prosperous black owned businesses activated a mindset shift throughout the black community. This allowed African American to become self-sufficient and to know that they had options in their career other than being a servant. Unfortunately, in 1921, the Tulsa Race Massacre made Black Wall Street a thing of the past and reinstituted Stockholm syndrome. Over the next 40 years, the black communities in Tulsa would spend nearly 90% of their income outside of their community.

To this day, as the black community continues to spend the black dollar outside the black community, non-black owned businesses recognize the power of the black dollar. In a 2021 CNBC broadcast, it was reported that the black spending power grew to $1.6 trillion, the net worth was reduced by 14%, and the wealth gap was widened by more than an $11 trillion. According to a 2021 press release from the U.S. Census Bureau, an estimated 30% of black owned businesses are in the Health Care and Social Assistance sector. The health care industry is one of the fastest growing industries and has seen an increase in new business owners.  In 2021, the number of new business applications file reached a recording breaking 5.4 million.

Designed to highlight black owned businesses as well as encourage and empower black business owners, National Black Business Month is recognized in August throughout the United States.  As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of Black Business Month, business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs will save on services from Elevated Standards. Business owners who visit our website https://www.elevatedstandardspa.com/plans-pricing by August 31st and enter code BB24 at checkout will receive 25% off any plan.   Aspiring entrepreneurs will receive $200 off start-up services and will be able to attend our webinars.   

Resources:

1. https://nationalbcc.org/jordan.php

2. www.commerce.gov/news/fact-sheets/2024/06/fact-sheet-us-department-commerce-support-minority-business-enterprises

3. https://www.fejordan.com/

4. https://nationaltoday.com/black-business-month/

5. https://www.britannica.com/place/Black-Wall-Street 

6. www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2022/annual-business-survey-characteristics.html 

7. www.census.gov/library/working-papers/2021/adrm/CES-WP-21-11.html

8. https://business.bankofamerica.com/resources/financing-options-for-black-entrepreneurs.html

9. https://www.cnbc.com/video/2022/02/01/black-spending-power-reaches-record-1-point-6-trillion-but-net-worth-falls.html

10. https://www.uschamber.com/small-business/state-of-small-business-now

11. https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/small-business-statistics/