Black Business Month

Black Business Month is observed throughout August as a time to celebrate the creativity, perseverance, and achievements of Black entrepreneurs and business owners. It highlights the important contributions Black-owned businesses make to local communities, the economy, and the broader culture, while recognizing the innovation and determination behind their success.

Throughout the month, people are encouraged to support Black-owned businesses by shopping with them, using their services, sharing their work, and learning about their stories. Black Business Month also draws attention to the barriers Black entrepreneurs have historically faced and inspires meaningful conversations about opportunity, representation, and building a more inclusive business landscape.

Black Business Month is observed throughout August as a time to recognize the contributions, achievements, and continuing challenges of Black-owned businesses in the United States. The observance was established in 2004 by Frederick E. Jordan, an engineer and entrepreneur, and John William Templeton, a historian and journalist. Their goal was to draw public attention to Black entrepreneurship and encourage greater support for Black-owned companies, which have long played an important role in community development and economic self-determination.

The observance has roots in a much longer history. During segregation, Black entrepreneurs created businesses that served customers excluded from many white-owned establishments, including grocery stores, insurance companies, banks, restaurants, beauty salons, newspapers, and professional practices. Organizations such as the National Negro Business League, founded by Booker T. Washington in 1900, helped promote Black enterprise and cooperation. In later decades, civil rights activism, community investment efforts, and the growth of Black chambers of commerce continued to emphasize business ownership as a means of building wealth and strengthening local communities.

Over time, Black Business Month evolved from a campaign centered on recognition into a broader opportunity for economic education and participation. Businesses, community groups, chambers of commerce, and consumers use August to highlight Black-owned companies, purchase their products and services, share their stories, and discuss access to capital, contracting opportunities, mentorship, and markets. The expansion of online marketplaces and social media has also made it easier for entrepreneurs to reach customers beyond their immediate communities and for supporters to discover businesses across the country.

Culturally, Black Business Month affirms the connection between entrepreneurship, representation, and economic empowerment. Black-owned businesses often provide employment, preserve cultural traditions, respond to community needs, and create pathways to generational wealth. At the same time, the observance calls attention to persistent inequalities that can affect financing, ownership, and business growth. By spanning the whole month of August, it offers sustained encouragement to support Black entrepreneurs while recognizing their historical resilience and their ongoing contributions to American economic and civic life.