By: Brother Leon Valentine
August celebrates Black Business Month! This month-long celebration focuses on Black business owners and recognizes Black entrepreneurs for their contributions to the American economy. According to Forbes Magazine, in 2019, consumer spending by African Americans and the Black household totaled approximately $835 Billion. While Black people are one of the largest ethnic groups towards consumer spending domestically, there is a major push to shift the dynamics of consumer spending and reallocate that spending within the Black community by promoting and consuming Black-owned products and services.
The brothers of the Sigma Sigma Sigma Chapter have led the charge to promote and allocate Black spending with Black-owned business and entrepreneurs within the Washington, DC metropolitan region. The chapter has a total Black spend of $47,594.29 year to date. With the DC metropolitan area being the #2 metro area for Black-owned business and entrepreneurs, it is the chapter’s priority to recognize and use Black business in the area for the purposes of business. This month, we interviewed Brother Eric Hugh, Director of Bigger & Better Business, on the importance of Black Business Month and how the chapter is leading the charge to support Black-owned business within the DC metropolitan area.
Why is Black Business Month important, and why should the Sigma Sigma Sigma chapter support this initiative?
This month is highly important and should be a major focus within the Black household. It is an important month for those in the Black community because it not only informs us of businesses and services created for us, by us but also gives us ways to learn how money that is spent by Black people can be circulated and gain interest within our own community. The Black dollar often circulates for only six hours and not towards another Black-owned business and it’s a leading charge to change this spending habit.
On a national level, our wondrous band emphasizes the importance of Black spending with programs, such as Black Spend and the investment club. So, it’s a leading task for our chapter to give exposure to any Black-owned business, product, or service. This month, we are focusing on a few businesses within the region, such as Milk & Honey, Matchbox, The Jerk Pit, and more. We are a community-focused organization and want to instill those principles with promoting and using businesses from within our own community.
What is something that brothers can do this month to support a Black-owned businesses?
There are many things that brothers can do this month to celebrate this important initiative. One of the first things I encourage, is to refer a brother you know to a Black-owned business, product, or service. A lot of Black-owned businesses and entrepreneurs don’t get a lot of exposure. If you look on Google, most businesses aren’t listed on the browser and aren’t easily accessible or attainable. Word of mouth and social
media are encouraged this month to highlight a Black entrepreneur to gain exposure and circulate the Black dollar. “Our goal for the future is to focus on a different Black-owned business at least once a month. Something brothers can also do is promote brothers from within our own chapter that have businesses. We have a variety of brothers in different industries. Support them by buying their service, attending their
business, or spreading the word about what they offer.