This is the fifth annual observance of a culturally-responsive campaign to increase employment and sales among the more than 1 million African-American owned companies in the United States and to foster trade with black-owned firms throughout the Diaspora on the African continent, the Caribbean and Europe.
Based on the findings of the annual State of Black Business report, National Black Business Month events encourage policy makers to take concrete steps to make their jurisdictions more attractive to black business owners by increasing
-- access to capital
-- promotion of heritage tourism
-- public and private procurement
-- use of cutting edge technologies
-- educational and training opportunities
-- the exposure of black entrepreneurs
We suggest 31 different ways to support black business on each of the 31 days of August.
To organize events in your state, get your copy of Trouble in the Air: State of Black Business 2008 which includes organizing guides. Call for more information 415-240-3537 or email us.
Florida black entrepreneurship
By 2004, Florida neared 100,000 black self-employed at 96,694, 7.23 percent of wage and salary earners, according to the Social Security Administration. For whites, the self-employment ratio was 12.73 percent. To achieve parity, another 73,603 blacks would go into business to reach a level of 170,297.
There is a pool of 103,553 black men and 186,681 black women in managerial and professional occupations statewide, according to the 2006 American Community Survey.
Black aggregate income topped $42 billion with a median income of $21,342 in 2006.
