The National Negro Business League (NNBL) was an American organization founded in Boston in 1900 by

Booker T. Washington Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, orator, and adviser to several presidents of the United States. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the dominant leader in the African-American c ...

to promote the interests of

African-American businesses Black-owned businesses (or Black businesses), also known as African-American businesses, originated in the days of slavery before 1865. Emancipation and civil rights permitted businessmen to operate inside the American legal structure starting in ...

. The mission and main goal of the National Negro Business League was "to promote the commercial and financial development of the Negro." It was recognized as "composed of negro men and women who have achieved success along business lines". It grew rapidly with 320 chapters in 1905 and more than 600 chapters in 34 states in 1915. In 1966, the League was renamed and reincorporated in Washington D.C. as the National Business League, which remains in operation.

History

NationalNegroBusinessLeague-ExecutiveCommittee

Establishment

The National Negro Business League (NNBL) was established in Boston, Massachusetts in 1900 by

. The effort was supported by industrialist and philanthropist

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans i ...

. The organization was formally incorporated in 1901 in New York , and established 320 chapters across the United States. In May 1913, a respected Black journalist,

Ralph Waldo Tyler Ralph Waldo Tyler (1860–1921) was an African-American journalist, war correspondent, and government official. He was the only accredited black foreign correspondent specifically reporting on African-American servicemen stationed in France durin ...

was elected as the first National Organizer of the NNBL. Tyler's role was to travel throughout the Southern United States and document the state of negro businesses and encourage enrollment in the NNBL. The League included Negro small- business owners, doctors, farmers, other professionals, craftsmen, etc. Its goal was to allow business to put economic development at the forefront of getting

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

equality in the United States. Business was the main concern, but civil rights came next. In 1905 the Nashville, Tennessee, chapter protested segregation in local transit with a boycott. 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, extant press releases indicate that "the 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.'" After the death of Booker T. Washington in 1915, the League was headed by his successor at Tuskegee,

Robert Russa Moton Robert Russa Moton (August 26, 1867 – May 31, 1940) was an American educator and author. He served as an administrator at Hampton Institute. In 1915 he was named principal of Tuskegee Institute, after the death of founder Booker T. Washington, ...

. Albon L. Holsey, an executive at Tuskegee, was executive secretary of the League. Other leaders in 1922-23 were John L. Webb, treasurer (succeeding Charles H. Anderson), and

Charles Clinton Spaulding Charles Clinton Spaulding (August 1, 1874 – August 1, 1952) was an American business leader. For close to thirty years, he presided over North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company, which became America's largest black-owned business, with ass ...

, head of the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Co. in Durham, North Carolina.Kenneth Hamilton (ed.)
''A Guide to the Records of the National Negro Business League.''
Bethesda, MD: University Publications of America, 1995.

Affiliations

Affiliated professional organizations included: the National Negro Bankers Association, the

National Negro Press Association National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

, the National Association of Negro Funeral Directors, the

National Negro Bar Association The National Negro Bar Association (NNBA) was the first national bar association for African-American lawyers in the United States. History The NNBA was founded in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1912. At the time, and for some thereafter, the Amer ...

, the National Association of Negro Insurance Men, the National Negro Retail Merchants' Association, the National Association of Negro Real Estate Dealers, and the National Negro Finance Corporation. The National Negro Bankers Association was organized at a meeting of the League in 1906 by Birmingham's

William R. Pettiford William R. Pettiford (January 20, 1847 – September 20, 1914) was a minister and banker in Birmingham, Alabama. Early in his career he worked as a minister and teacher in various towns in Alabama, moving to the 16th Street Baptist Church in 1883 ...

. The organization inspired Robert R. Church Sr. to open

Solvent Savings Bank Solvent Savings Bank and Trust was an African American-owned bank in Memphis, Tennessee, founded in 1906 by Robert Reed Church. It was the first African American-owned bank to achieve $1 million in assets. It merged with Fraternal Savings Bank and ...

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

in 1906.

Footnotes

External links

National Business League website
* Joseph Bernardo
"National Negro Business League (1900 - ),"
Black Past * Library of Congress

American Memory, www.memory.loc.gov/ * Richard Wormer

The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow: Jim Crow Stories, PBS {{authority control Organizations established in 1900 1900 establishments in the United States African-American professional organizations African Americans' rights organizations Business organizations based in the United States Organizations based in Washington, D.C. African-American businesspeople American businesspeople

History

Establishment

Affiliations

See also

Footnotes

Further reading

Primary sources

External links