Business
African American Chambers of Commerce providing Black Entrepreneurs with support
African America chambers offer black entrepreneurs administrative, technical and financial support.
When A. Bruce Crawley launched the African American Chamber of Commerce of Philadelphia in 1993 he expected, and got, some dissension. Many in the business community and local media questioned the need for a a chamber of commerce tailored specifically to black business owners. But for the president of Crawley Haskins & Rodgers, black-owned. Philadelphia public relations and advertising firm, the answer was simple. “Up until the establishment of our chamber, no organization focused all of its resources 24 hours a day, seven days a week on the special challenges presented to African American-owned business,” Crawley says.
Many black chambers are formed to give entrepreneurs opportunities to network and gather under one umbrella for technical support. In places like Florida and Ohio, business owners are forming black chambers in response to cuts in affirmative action and set-aside programs for minority firms. Others are forming chambers to make a statement about the power of pooling black dollars. “African Americans spend a lot of money in this economy, and we get very little back,” says Jim Clingman, founder and executive director of the Greater Cincinnati African American Chamber of Commerce.
