This post was originally published on New York Amsterdam News
By Brian Delk
The New York City Department of Small Businesses Services (SBS) unveiled an online business directory listing over 3,300 Black-owned businesses across the city. The SBS’s Black Entrepreneurs NYC (BE NYC) spearheaded the endeavor.
While Black people comprise 22% of the New York City population, they only own 2% of the city’s small businesses. Supporters of the website called the Shop Black initiative positive for the community, entrepreneurs, and the general economy. The launch of the directory also coincided with the historic Black holiday, Juneteenth, which celebrates the liberation of slavery for all people across the United States.
“When we support our Black-owned small businesses, we support the entire city,” said Kevin D. Kim, commissioner of the Department of Small Business Services. “The Shop Black NYC directory serves to boost Black entrepreneurship by encouraging New Yorkers and tourists alike to shop Black and shop local, which in turn allows our neighborhoods to grow and prosper as new businesses take root.”