Honoring the Negro Business League

Tallahassee businesswoman named Ebony ‘young leader’ U.S. Chamber of Commerce has roots in B.T. Washington’s work

By Will Brown

DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER

Today is the first day of a month that traditionally highlights the achievement of African-Americans in the United States.

The legacy of the National Negro Business League, however, appears to have been forgotten, according to those familiar with its history. Founded by Booker T. Washington in 1900 — a dozen years before the creation of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce — the league was the country’s first national chamber.

Renamed the National Business League, the organization is based in Washington, D.C.

Academics argue a reason the league, and its subsequent impact on African-American business, is not remembered is the fact that Washington was strictly an advocate for industrial education. Michael Boston, a professor of African-American studies at Brockport (N.Y.) State College, said it is important to remember the various organizations that were founded by black professionals and business owners during the heyday of segregation and Jim Crow laws. (more…)