According to NationalDayCalendar.com, “Black business owners account for about 10% of U.S. businesses and about 30% of all minority-owned businesses. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, that amounts to approximately two million companies owned by African Americans.” Those businesses are what we celebrate and support in August, which is National Black Business Month.

A lot has been said recently about the impact that COVID-19 has had on the minority population, recognizing that many are connected to essential services. National Day Calendar cites that “nearly 40% of Black-owned businesses are in healthcare and social assistance, repair and maintenance, and personal and laundry services,” all of which are necessary to help keep our country running.

California has the fourth most Black-owned businesses, and is only outnumbered by Maryland, Georgia and New York, according to zippia.com (https://rb.gy/dlgxlw).

National Black Business Month was founded in 2004 by Frederick E. Jordan, Sr., who is an engineer, and John Williams Templeton, a historian. Their purpose was to drive the policy agenda affecting the 2.6 million African-American businesses.”

You can find out more about ways to support National Black Business Month by visiting Black Business Month.