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The Bureau of the Census reports that the number of Black-owned businesses in the United States had increased forty-seven percent over a five year period.
1985 (Nov 7)
The Bureau of the Census reported that the number of Black-owned businesses in the United States had increased forty-seven percent over a five year period. In 1982, there were 339,231 Black-owned firms, compared to 231,203 in 1977. The majority of Black-owned companies were service and retail businesses with gross receipts totaling $12.4 billion in 1982. That was an increase of nearly forty-four percent from $8.6 billion five years earlier. The largest segment of Black firms were “miscellaneous retail businesses,” 53,981, with total receipts in 1982 of $993 million. Black automotive dealers and service stations accounted for the largest dollar volume, however, $1.3 billion for 3,448 firms in 1982. Small, sole proprietorships firms totaling 322,975 accounted for more than ninety-five percent of all black businesses in 1982, while corporations made up only 1.8 percent."
References:
- • Hornsby, Alton. Chronology of African-American History: Significant Events and People from 1619 to the Present. Detroit: Gale Research, 1995.