August, marked as Black Business Month, is not just a ceremonial nod. It is a mirror. It reflects centuries of striving, of survival, of reinvention in the face of a nation that has too often profited from our labor while neglecting Black enterprise. In 2025, five years since the mass outpouring of advocacy for Black businesses in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, the mirror asks us a tricky question: where are we now?

The Promise of 2020

The summer of 2020 was a rupture in American history. Amid the grief of a pandemic and the rage of protest, Black businesses became symbols of resilience and vessels of possibility. According to the National Library of Medicine, data from the early pandemic confirmed what entrepreneurs already knew in their bones. While nearly 40% of Black-owned busine

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