Juneteenth honors the end of slavery in the United States and is a celebration of culture, history and pride for Black communities across the country. At CRF, we are celebrating Juneteenth by highlighting the tremendous contributions that Black-owned businesses have made on our country.
As of the 2020 census, there are approximately 124,551 Black-owned businesses in the United States making an economic contribution of approximately $128 billion. But this represents extremely limited potential. A lack of wealth, credit and property due to generations of systemic racism and exclusion has limited economic opportunity for Black business owners.
According to the Brookings Institution, if the number of Black-owned businesses matched the population size and revenue of non-Black-owned businesses, the total revenue for Black-owned businesses would increase by $5.9 trillion. It doesn’t take an economist to understand the impact such an increase would have on our national prosperity.
This Juneteenth, CRF will be closed as we recognize the power of Black-owned businesses to reshape the U.S. economy. These businesses lead the way in health care, high tech and dozens of other growth industries.
We know that the social changes taking place today have the power to yield a lasting positive impact on the lives of millions. CRF celebrates all of the Black-owned businesses that are leading the way toward a more fair and just economy for all.
“The right business ecosystems can mitigate or negate the effects of structural obstacles to business building for Black business owners—and add $290 billion in business equity… Entrepreneurship and business ownership—particularly of community-based businesses—are crucial ways to develop community wealth, for both business owners and the people they employ. Healthy Black-owned businesses could be a critical component for closing the United States’ Black–white wealth gap”—McKinsey, Building supportive ecosystems for Black-owned US businesses
This Juneteenth, we hope you’ll join us in supporting Black-owned organizations around the US.
