“31 Ways 31 Days”: Celebrating National Black Business Month
August 1st marked the beginning of the 14th annual National Black Business Month (NBBM), an observance that highlights the importance of African-American businesses to the Black community as well as our national economy. This celebration also generates awareness for the policy issues affecting African-American entrepreneurship. Economic empowerment is one of The Black Women’s Agenda, Inc.’s focus areas, and you will hear more about our efforts in this arena at our 40th Annual Symposium next month.
Data from the 2012 U.S. Census Bureau indicates that there are approximately 2.6 million Black businesses in the United States, employing nearly one million employees and generating annual revenues of roughly $187 billion. National Black Business Month Co-founders Frederick E. Jordan, President, F.E. Jordan & Associates – a prominent engineering and construction management firm – and John William Templeton, President, Venturata Economic Development Corp., believe that supporting African-American businesses is key to lowering the rate of Black unemployment. During August 2017, individuals, institutions and businesses are encouraged to visit at least one Black business per day. According to Templeton and Jordan, patronizing African-American-owned establishments, including restaurants, manufacturers, theaters attorneys, doctors, auto dealers, newspapers, book publishers, breweries, farmers and churches, could result in “more than 40,000 additional jobs during the month and as many as 450,000 if the patterns are continued over the course of a year.” To learn more about NBBM’s “31 Ways 31 Days” to stimulate spending with Black-owned companies and its strategy for increasing economic growth, visit http://blackbusinessmonth.com/.
OTHER NEWS
April Is National Minority Health Month
This April, join The Black Women’s Agenda, Inc. in celebrating National Minority Health Month. This year, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health (OMH) will join partners in raising awareness about the important role an active lifestyle plays in keeping us healthy. Their theme for the 2019 observance is Active & Healthy, which will “allow OMH and minority health advocates throughout the nation to emphasize the health benefits of incorporating even small amounts of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity into our schedules.
Black Women Focus on Aging Mastery
The Black Women’s Agenda recently hosted a summit themed, “I Am the Change: Living Your Best Life at Every Age,” at Morgan State University in Baltimore, MD. Sponsored by AARP and featuring leading experts in the fields of health, education, and economic security, the event focused on the importance of health and wellness in the aging process.
“Too often black women are focused on everyone and everything except themselves,” said panel moderator Dr. Rockeymoore Cummings. “Our concern for and work on behalf of our families and communities competes with our ability to implement self-care strategies that support our physical, emotional, spiritual, and socioeconomic wellbeing.”
March is Women’s History Month
This March, join The Black Women’s Agenda, Inc. as we celebrate Women’s History Month. Congress first declared March as Women’s History month in 1987. Since then, every year there’s a Presidential Proclamation to announce the month and to honor women who have made a notable impact in history.
According to the National Women’s History Alliance, “In February 1980, President Carter issued the first Presidential Proclamation declaring the Week of March 8th 1980 as National Women’s History Week. In the same year, Representative Barbara Mikulski, who at the time was in the House of Representatives, and Senator Orrin Hatch co-sponsored a Congressional Resolution for National Women’s History Week 1981. This co-sponsorship demonstrated the wide-ranging political support for recognizing, honoring, and celebrating the achievements of American women.
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