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The Miami-Dade Black Affairs Advisory Board (BAAB) on Aug. 2 joined the Miami-Dade Economic Advocacy Trust (MDEAT), Miami-Dade Commission vice chair Oliver G. Gilbert III, Commissioner Kionne L. McGhee, Commissioner Jean Monestime, Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau (GMCVB) leaders, Office of the Mayor representatives, BAAB board members, and community partners to kick off Black Business Month.
National Black Business Month is devoted to supporting and celebrating black-owned businesses (BOB) across the country. Black Business Month is about highlighting this entrepreneurial community and making sure more Black-owned businesses can reach higher levels of success.
Commissioner McGhee sponsored a resolution officially declaring August as “Black Business Month” for Miami-Dade County, which passed with the support of the County Commission and Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. The month-long initiative was developed in partnership with the Black Affairs Advisory Board and the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau (GMCVB).
Community partners include the Miami-Dade Public Library System, Miami-Dade Tax Collector, Florida State Minority Supplier Development Council; Miami-Dade Chamber of Commerce; Miami-Dade NAACP; and Miami MBDA Business Center, among others
The small business community in America forms the bedrock of the country’s economy. A 2019 study from the Small Business Administration states that small businesses “create two-thirds of net new jobs” and account for “44 percent of U.S. economic activity.” But according to the U.S. Census Bureau, only about 2 million of the over 30 million small businesses in the United States are owned by African Americans.
See the following statistics:
• BOBs comprise 51,285 of the 468,185 business firms throughout Miami Dade County (10.95 percent).
• BOBs generate over $2.3 billion in annual sales, receipts, and total value of shipments.
• BOBs employ a total of 12,227 individuals.
• BOBs managed a combined annual payroll of over $320 million.
• Ranked fifth in the nation for largest number of Black-owned employer businesses.
For more information on the month’s events, contact Black Affairs Advisory Board director Retha Boone-Fye at 305-375-4606.
