August is National Black Business Month, an annual observance established in 2004 by historian John William Templeton and engineer Frederick E. Jordan. It is a time to celebrate Black entrepreneurs and recognize their contributions to the American economy—but it must also be a time to confront the barriers that continue to prevent too many Black-owned businesses from surviving, expanding, and becoming lasting community institutions.
Let me say this plainly: Black Business Month has to be about more than posting a “Buy Black” graphic on social media.
It must challenge us to examine where we spend our money, who benefits from that spending and whether our dollars are helping build the communities we say we care about.
Creating, supporting and sustaining Black-owned businesses creates jobs, strengthens neighborhoods, expands opportunity and helps transform individual ideas into institutions that can serve generations. Supporting Black businesses is not charity. It is an investment in economic independence, community stability and Black wealth.
Black Businesses Are Growing—but the Barriers Remain
Black entrepreneurs have always created businesses despite discriminatory lending, redlining, exclusion from established marketplaces and limited access to investment capital. They opened stores, restaurants, barbershops, beauty salons, professional practices and community institutions when many traditional doors were deliberately closed to them.
Those barriers did not simply disappear.
In 2024, the Alliance for Entrepreneurial Equity—a partnership between the National Urban League and Third Way—released The State of Black Business, examining the economic landscape confronting Black entrepreneurs across the country.
The report found that Black businesses are growing, but they remain woefully underrepresented. Black-owned employer businesses grew by approximately 30 percent between 2018 and 2021, yet they still represented only about 2.5 percent of all employer businesses in the United States.
Most Black-owned companies remain small, many employing fewer than five people. That is not because Black entrepreneurs lack ambition, talent, innovation or work ethic. Too many are attempting to grow within an economic system where access to capital, contracts, customers, resources and influential professional networks remains unequal.
National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial stated that business ownership directly leads to economic empowerment and wealth creation, but systemic barriers continue to make success more difficult for Black entrepreneurs.
Access to financing remains one of the clearest examples.
Only 32 percent of Black-owned businesses seeking financing reportedly received the full amount requested, compared with 56 percent of white-owned businesses. Meanwhile, 40 percent of Black-owned businesses were completely denied loans, credit lines or cash advances, compared with 18 percent of white-owned businesses. Black founders also received only 0.5 percent of venture-capital funding in 2023.
Those disparities have consequences. They lead to fewer businesses being launched, limited opportunities to expand, smaller workforces and higher rates of closure.
So yes, we must celebrate Black entrepreneurship. But we must also understand that celebration without investment, access and consistent support will not close the gap.
The Power of the Black Dollar
Black Americans command approximately $2.1 trillion in annual buying power. That makes Black consumers one of the most influential forces in the American marketplace.
But buying power should never be confused with wealth.
The real question is not simply how much money Black America spends. The real question is: Where does that money go, who benefits from it and how many times does it circulate within our communities before leaving?
Every dollar we spend is an economic vote. We are voting for the businesses, institutions and communities we want to see survive.
Imagine the impact if more of that $2.1 trillion were intentionally deposited in Black-owned banks, spent with Black-owned businesses, invested in Black entrepreneurs, used to hire Black professionals and circulated several times within our neighborhoods before leaving.
When we buy Black, bank Black, advertise with Black media, hire Black professionals and invest in Black entrepreneurs, we help create jobs, strengthen families, finance community institutions and build generational wealth.
Our dollars should not merely pass through our hands on their way to making everyone else wealthy. They should work for us before they work for everybody else.
Real Support Requires More Than Likes
The most direct way to support a Black-owned business is to become a paying customer.
Likes, compliments, and promises of future support do not pay the rent, purchase inventory, cover payroll, or keep the lights on. Revenue does.
Before making a purchase, take the time to look for a Black-owned option. That may include restaurants, caterers, bookstores, clothing designers, barbershops, beauty salons, contractors, accountants, attorneys, photographers, printers, consultants and other professional service providers.
And do not stop after one purchase. Become a repeat customer. Purchase gift cards. Use Black-owned vendors for family celebrations, organizational events and workplace functions. Encourage churches, nonprofits, political campaigns, government agencies and corporations to add qualified Black-owned companies to their procurement lists.
We have to move beyond asking, “Do I know a Black-owned business?”
The better question is: “Did I look for one before I spent my money?”
Social media also gives each of us the power to become a small marketing department. Do more than press “like.” Repost the product. Share the menu. Tag the business. Post a picture of what you purchased. Include the website, location, and ordering information.
One repost can lead to a new customer, a catering contract, a corporate partnership or an opportunity that the business owner may not otherwise have received.
Then there is the oldest and still one of the most effective forms of promotion: word of mouth.
Tell people about the restaurant that served an excellent meal. Recommend the contractor who performed quality work. Share the name of the attorney, accountant, designer or consultant who provided professional service. Bring someone with you the next time you visit.
Do not keep a good Black-owned business a secret. When you discover excellence, spread the word.
Positive online reviews also matter. A detailed Google, Yelp, or Facebook review can strengthen a company’s reputation, improve its visibility, and help it compete with larger businesses that have significantly greater advertising budgets.
When a problem does arise, give the owner a reasonable opportunity to address it before attempting to destroy the business online. Accountability is necessary, but so are fairness, communication, and the opportunity to correct an honest mistake.
Black businesses should be held to professional standards, but they should also receive the same grace many consumers routinely extend to major corporations.
Stop Asking for “The Hookup”
Let me say this plainly: if someone you call a friend owns a Black business and you have never purchased anything, shared a post, referred a customer or supported that business in any meaningful way, you may need to reconsider what friendship really means. Support is more than applause, likes, and encouraging words. Real friends show up—and when possible, they spend, promote, recommend and help one another grow.
Supporting Black businesses also means respecting their prices and paying them on time.
Black entrepreneurs have rent, payroll, insurance, taxes, utilities, inventory and operating expenses just like every other business owner. Constantly asking for discounts, free products or “the hookup” does not demonstrate support.
Do not expect Black friends, relatives or community members to work for exposure while paying everyone else without question.
Exposure does not pay bills.
We cannot claim to support Black businesses while attempting to negotiate them out of profitability.
Support Must Continue After August
Black Business Month may increase awareness, but Black-owned businesses need customers in September, December, March and every other month of the year.
Sustainable businesses are built through consistent patronage—not seasonal attention.
Create a personal directory of Black-owned businesses. Include them in your holiday shopping, celebrations, professional needs and everyday spending. Recommend them for grants, contracts, vendor fairs and certification opportunities. Introduce entrepreneurs to decision-makers who may be able to open doors.
A recommendation that leads to a long-term contract may have a much greater impact than a single purchase.
Supporting Black-owned businesses is not about excluding everyone else. It is about confronting a long-standing economic imbalance and ensuring Black entrepreneurs have a fair opportunity to participate in—and benefit from—the economy.
When we purchase, promote, recommend, review, invest and connect, we are doing more than supporting an individual business owner. We are helping create jobs, stabilize neighborhoods, strengthen Black institutions and build the foundation for generational wealth.
The message of Black Business Month is simple:
We cannot demand strong Black communities while refusing to build and sustain strong Black businesses.
Now it is your turn. In the comment section, share your favorite Black-owned business—the one you believe everyone needs to know about, support, and help grow. Your recommendation could introduce that business to its next customer, client, contract, or opportunity.
Black Westchester has always been an advocate for supporting Black-Owned Businesses and recycling our Black Dollars. We started a Black 2 Business Section here on the website, where we will feature Black-Owned Businesses from time to time. Feel free to suggest Westchester County-based Black-Owned Businesses you think we should spotlight in the comment section below!
Black Westchester and People Before Politics Radio is celebrating our 12th anniversary issue this month with a special commemorative issue. To advertise or make a donation to celebrate our anniversary, email us at AdvertiseWithBW@gmail.com and help us continue to deliver The News With The Black Point of View free to our community
