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File #: 230901    Version: 0 Name:
Type: Resolution Status: ADOPTED
File created: 11/30/2023 In control: CITY COUNCIL
On agenda: Final action: 11/30/2023
Title: Declaring each Friday in December 2023 as "Shop Black Business Friday" in the City of Philadelphia.
Sponsors: Councilmember Gilmore Richardson, Councilmember Jones, Councilmember Vaughn, Councilmember Driscoll, Councilmember Gauthier, Councilmember Bass, Councilmember Lozada, Councilmember Harrity, Councilmember Phillips, Councilmember Brooks, Councilmember Thomas
Attachments: 1. Signature23090100
Title
Declaring each Friday in December 2023 as "Shop Black Business Friday" in the City of Philadelphia.

Body
WHEREAS, Black culture runs deep among Philadelphia's historic sites, artistic havens, cultural offerings and in Philadelphia's many Black-owned shops, restaurants, and other businesses; and

WHEREAS, These businesses provide local jobs, goods, services and amenities in neighborhoods throughout Philadelphia, including historically disadvantaged communities; and

WHEREAS, Historical structural inequities and systemic racism have presented barriers for Black and Brown entrepreneurs and small business owners to open, operate, and grow; and

WHEREAS, the Pew Research Center reports that while the number of Black owned businesses is growing in the US, Black and Brown owned businesses accounted for only 3% of all businesses with race and ethnicity data in the Census Bureau's latest Annual Business Survey; and

WHEREAS, not only are Black and Brown owned businesses vital to the communities they serve, but those businesses bring in an estimated $141.1 billion in gross revenue nationally; and

WHEREAS, it is imperative to safeguard and grow Philadelphia's existing Black-owned businesses through investing and supporting them individually as consumers and collectively as a city; and

WHEREAS, VISIT PHILADELPHIA, the tourism marketing organization, is kicking off the holiday season with dedicated marketing efforts to support the economic growth of local Black and Brown-owned businesses; and

WHEREAS, The 2023 holiday season is a critical period for the economic health of small businesses, and an opportunity for residents and visitors to strengthen Philadelphia communities by shopping with Black and Brown-owned businesses; and

WHEREAS, The City of Philadelphia recognizes that the promotion of Philadelphia small businesses is necessary to increase consumer sales, and, critically, support the jobs, revenue, and economic impact generated by these important com...

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