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.

Illinois black entrepreneurship

Illinois had 66,030 black self-employed in 2004, 7.83 percent of wage and salary earners, according to Social Security Administration data. It had the smallest differential with white self-employed, who were 10.99 percent of earners. Achieving parity would mean another 26,633 black entrepreneurs to reach a total of 92,663.
There is a pool of 110,152 black men and 188,626 black women in managerial and professional occupations, as measured by the 2006 American Community Survey.
Black aggregate income in Illinois was $30.8 billion with a median income of $24,506 in 2006