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A resolution recognizing August as National Black Business Month in Nashville and Davidson County.
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WHEREAS, National Black Business Month is celebrated during the month of August; and,
WHEREAS, National Black Business Month was created in 2004 by historian John William Templeton and engineer Frederick E. Jordan Sr. to highlight and empower Black business owners and bring attention to the needs of more than two million Black-owned businesses operating across America; and,
WHEREAS, this stemmed from Frederick Jordan’s own personal experience of the struggle to gain financial backing and funding when he began his own firm in San Francisco in 1969; and
WHEREAS, since the late 1700s, both free and enslaved Black people began to open their own small businesses, from barbershops to tobacco shops and shoemaking. As emancipation grew, so did the establishment of Black-owned businesses, and this led to the period between 1900 - 1930 being labeled as the ‘golden age’ of Black-owned businesses. Segregation saw entire districts becoming Black-owned, such as Black Wall Street in Tulsa, Oklahoma; and,
WHEREAS, today Black business owners account for about 10 percent of U.S. businesses and about 30 percent of all minority-owned businesses; and,
WHEREAS, Black-owned businesses are more likely to experience financial hardship as opposed to White-owned businesses, perhaps simply because systemic racism is still prevalent in the nation - whether latent or blatant; and,
WHEREAS, supporting Black-owned businesses is a way of acknowledging and celebrating the struggle and encouraging these businesses to keep thriving; and,
WHEREAS, Black-owned businesses bring jobs and more diversity to the business industry and contribute to the nation's economic and sociological well-being; and,
WHEREAS, there are hundreds of Black-owned businesses operating in Nashville and Davidson County and it is our job as American citizens to push for equity in business and entrepreneurship for all minority communities; and,
WHEREAS, it is fitting and proper that the Metropolitan Council recognize National Black Business Month as a month-long celebration to encourage and support Black-owned businesses in our community.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT OF NASHVILLE AND DAVIDSON COUNTY:
Section 1. That the Metropolitan Council hereby goes on record as recognizing August 2022 as National Black Business Month in Nashville and Davidson County.
Section 2. This Resolution shall take effect from and after its adoption, the welfare of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County requiring it.