[National Black Business Month 2020\U.S. Black Chambers]
U.S. Black Chambers: “Last month, there was no way to identify if a business is truly a Black-owned business. Facebook agreed to take a look at it, and now they have started to allow you to self-identity on your profile as being Black-owned…”
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For National Black Business Month 2020, Facebook and the U.S. Black Chambers, Inc. have teamed up to give Black-owned businesses the support they need to weather the storm of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The month-long celebration, which began yesterday, includes a series of trainings, programming and spotlights on Black-owned businesses as part of Facebook’s ongoing commitment to invest in the Black business community.
In June, Facebook announced a pledge of $200 million to Black-owned businesses and organizations. “Out of the $200 million, $25 million will go to support Black content creators, $75 million will go to cash grants and ad credits for Black-owned businesses and non-profits that serve the Black community and $100 million will be spent annually on Black-owned suppliers like marketing agencies and construction companies,” said Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg. “Facebook will also commit to increase the representation of people of color in the company’s leadership positions by 30%, including 30% more Black people, over the next five years.”
The partnership with the U.S. Black Chambers was struck after Facebook conducted a survey of business owners a few months ago. “In the survey, Facebook asked a great deal of great questions, but they never asked about nationality and race. So, we challenged them by informing them that the survey wasn’t helpful to anybody because we’re in a moment of time for discussing Black issues, and the survey didn’t address that,” Ron Busby, founder of U.S. Black Chambers, told TNJ.com in an exclusive interview.
He continues, “Last month, there was no way to identify if a business is truly a Black-owned business. Facebook agreed to take a look at it, and now they have started to allow you to self-identity on your profile as being Black-owned…”
Read the rest of this Network Journal story here: https://tnj.com/u-s-black-chambers-partners-with-facebook-for-national-black-business-month-events/
