National Negro Business League
Encyclopedia
The National Negro Business League was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 organization founded in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

 in 1900 by Booker T. Washington
Booker T. Washington
Booker Taliaferro Washington was an American educator, author, orator, and political leader. He was the dominant figure in the African-American community in the United States from 1890 to 1915...

, with the support of Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, businessman, and entrepreneur who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century...

. The mission and main goal of the National Negro Business League was "to promote the commercial and financial development of the Negro
Negro
The word Negro is used in the English-speaking world to refer to a person of black ancestry or appearance, whether of African descent or not...

." The organization was formally incorporated in 1901 in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, and established 320 chapters across the United States. Later, in 1966, the National Negro Business League was renamed and reincorporated in Washington D.C. as the National Business League.

The League included small negro business owners, doctors, farmer, other professionals, craftsmen, etc. Its goal was to allow business to put economic development at the forefront of getting African-American equality in the United States. Booker T. Washington felt that there was a need for African Americans to build an economic network and allow that to be a catalyst for change and social improvement. Also, "(T)he League organized the National Negro Business Service to 'help . . the Negro business men of the country solve their merchandising and advertising problems,' promoted advertising in Negro newspapers and magazines, and 'influenced . . . national advertisers to use Negro publications in reaching this importantly valuable group of people with its tremendous purchasing power.'"

External links

  • http://lcweb2.loc.gov:8081/ammem/amrlhtml/dtnegbus.html
  • http://www.aaregistry.com/african_american_history/323/Nat_Negro_Business_League_founded__*http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_org_business.html
  • http://www.lexisnexis.com/academic/guides/african_american/nnbl.asp
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