Whereas businesses serve as one of the main drivers of the United States economy and are crucial to the overall success of the country; Whereas Black-owned businesses have played an instrumental role in advancing African-Americans’ status and promoting Black culture throughout history; Whereas African Americans founded and developed the Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma, also known as Black Wall Street , in the early 1900s to direct revenue into their own community to ensure economic stability due to racial discrimination at that time; Whereas Black Wall Street was considered one of the wealthiest Black communities in the United States with Black-owned businesses such as barber shops and salons, clothing stores, jewelers, restaurants, theaters, grocery stores, and medical legal offices, until the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921; Whereas, in the 1930s to 1960s, The Negro Motorist Green Book was distributed across the United States that highlighted, among other things, Black-owned businesses in order to enable Black travelers to find lodgings, businesses, and gas stations amidst segregation; Whereas recent significant strides have been made regarding the growth of Black-owned businesses in the United States; Whereas, in 1971, Johnson Products Company, which sold hair care and cosmetic products for Black consumers, became the first Black-owned company to trade on the American Stock Exchange; Whereas, in 1991, the Black Entertainment Television, or BET , became the first Black-owned company to be traded on the New York Stock Exchange; Whereas the largest industry areas for Black-owned businesses are in the areas of health care, social assistance, retail trade, transportation, warehousing, accommodations, and food services; Whereas, from 2017 to 2020, the number of Black-owned businesses across the country increased by over 13 percent, an amount larger than overall businesses growth, which increased by less than 1 percent over the same period