Erie, Pennsylvania – Supporting Black-owned businesses has become increasingly important to many Black adults as a strategy for achieving racial equality in the United States. According to a survey from the Pew Research Center, about six-in-ten Black adults believe that supporting Black businesses is an effective approach in the pursuit of equality.
Despite the growth in the number of Black-owned businesses in recent years, there remains a significant disparity in representation. Black business owners make up only 2.4% of all employer-firm owners, despite Black Americans constituting about 12.4% of the country’s population. In contrast, white Americans make up 86% of employer-firm owners, while representing approximately 59% of the population.
However, the number of Black-owned businesses has seen an increase, with an estimated 161,031 in operation in 2022 and generating $183.3 billion in annual receipts. These businesses employed 1.4 million people, paying about $53.6 billion in annual payroll, as reported by the Census Bureau’s 2022 Annual Business Survey.
While a majority of Black-owned businesses have small payrolls, several firms still manage to generate billion-dollar revenues each year and employ thousands of workers. For example, David Steward’s World Wide Technology, a successful Black-owned business, employs about 10,000 people globally and brought in $17 billion in revenue last year, according to Forbes.
In addition, investing in Black-owned businesses has significant implications. Research from the Brookings Institution indicates that these businesses are more likely to hire Black workers, while Black adults are more likely to be unemployed. The underrepresentation of Black businesses not only weakens employment opportunities and the development of Black communities but also costs the U.S. economy millions of jobs and billions of dollars in unrealized revenues, further perpetuating racial inequality.
Supporting Black-owned businesses is becoming increasingly crucial in the push for racial equality, and it can have significant economic and social impacts. As awareness of this issue grows, so too does the opportunity to address the disparities and create a more equitable business landscape.