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National Black Chamber of Commerce

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20 years with the national black chamber of commerce


The National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) was incorporated as The National Black Chamber of Commerce, Inc., in 1993. It is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, nonsectarian organization dedicated to the economic empowerment of African American communities. Additionally, the organization indicates that it represents the views of its members regarding economic and political policy issues; domestically and internationally. It is organized as a 501(c) corporation and has at least 190 chapters within the United States. The NBCC also has international chapters in the Bahamas, Brazil, Colombia, Ghana and Jamaica. As with all Chambers of Commerce, affiliate branches are committed to carrying out the goals of the main Chamber within their areas.

Contents

NBCC was founded in 1993 by Harry C. Alford and his wife Kay DeBow.

The NBCC is a very young national organization when compared to others such as the NAACP and CORE. It is also the first major African American organization to focus on economic empowerment. The NBCC was founded by Harry Alford, who serves as the first President and CEO. He also is a Board member of the United States Chamber of Commerce. In an interview reported in Human Events, Mr. Alford identifies with the Booker T. Washington approach to African American self empowerment and sees the approach of W.E.B. Du Bois and the NAACP (whom he calls enemies of Washington) as primarily political.

Mission and strategic goals

The stated mission of the NBCC is to "economically empower and sustain African American communities through entrepreneurship and capitalistic activity within the United States and via interaction with the Black Diaspora".

The NBCC works to fulfill its mission by implementing the following goals:

  • Increase business development and economic growth within the African American community via procurement, access to capital and international trade.
  • Secure sponsorship for the funding and guidance of NBCC programs.
  • Educate and train members of the African American community regarding business development and their purpose to benefit society.
  • Provide technical support to affiliate chapters.

    • Business development

    The NBCC reaches 100,000 Black owned businesses. There are 1 million Black owned businesses in the United States. Black businesses account for over $100 billion in annual sales. African Americans have over $800 billion in expendable income each year according to the US Bureau of Census.

    Funding

    The NBCC "is funded primarily by fossil fuel energy companies, including Koch Industries and ExxonMobil," according to an 2015 analysis by the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting. Exxon Mobil includes the NBCC on its 2004 list of contributions and community investments. From 2002 through 2014 NBCC received $1 million, and from 2008 through 2015 $800,000, from Exxon Mobil. In June of 2015 Peabody Energy contributed $10,000 to the NBCC. The NBCC acknowledges funding from fossil fuel companies.

    Those in this list have sponsored the NBCC and/or its events in the past, and may continue to do so.

  • Altria was scheduled to sponsor the 2004 Fall Summit meeting in Negril, Jamaica.
  • Hewlett Packard sponsored the 2003 Annual convention in Birmingham, Alabama.
  • Lord Abbett and New York Life participated with the NBCC in the sponsorship of the Building Wealth Tour.
  • The Gulf Power Company division of the Southern Company
  • Chevron
  • The American Chemistry Council

    • In 2015 Florida Congressman Alcee Hastings urged NBCC to cut ties with industry groups that spread misinformation on air pollution.

    Positions

    The NBCC takes positions on federal and state legislation and issues that may affect its goals.

    The NBCC "has been a staunch ally of utility and fossil fuel companies for nearly a quarter century," according to the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting.

  • In 1998, Alford testified before the United States Congress that the Kyoto Protocol would harm minority-owned small businesses.
  • In testimony submitted to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions regarding Senate Bill S.625, the NBCC stated that it opposes increased the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulation of tobacco. The reason for its opposition is that the regulation would impose fees affecting small tobacco retailing and distribution businesses in the U.S., many of which are owned by Black Americans.
  • In public comments regarding the Microsoft antitrust case, the NBCC along with the Telecommunications Research and Action Center and the National Native American Chamber of Commerce indicated that the case settlement was inadequate in terms of consumer protection and that additional remedies were required.
  • The NBCC denies the scientific consensus on climate change, stating on their website that "...there is no sound science to support the claims of Global Warming." In 2009, NBCC opposed the American Clean Energy and Security Act, a proposed emissions trading plan.
  • The NBCC supports the Keystone XL Pipeline.
  • In 2015 the NBCC opposed the Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan. In June 2015 NBCC released a report entitled Potential Impact of Proposed EPA Regulations on Low Income Groups and Minorities; the Union of Concerned Scientists said the report "relies on misleading claims cut-and-pasted from several previously debunked reports." Seven newspapers published op-eds from the NBCC saying that the Plan will impose "economic hardship" on blacks and Hispanics; none of the newspapers disclosed NBCC's funding from the Exxon Mobil Foundation.

    • Organization

  • Board of Directors - The Board consists of no more than 18 Directors at any given time. It develops, implements and supervises the policies of the Chamber and elects all officers.
  • Officers - The Chamber officers are elected from among the Board, and consist of the Chairman of the Board, President/CEO, Secretary, Treasurer, one or more Vice Presidents and other officers as determined by the Board.
  • Members - Local member and student member chapters; and individuals, businesses and organizations that prefer direct membership to the National Chamber.

    • References

    National Black Chamber of Commerce Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA