NASHVILLE, Tenn (WKRN) – In honor of National Black Business Month, the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (TNECD) commissioner, Stuart McWhorter, visited Music City to highlight the historic Citizens Savings Bank and Trust.
The day trip to Nashville was McWhorter’s fifth out of nine total Black-owned businesses he’s stopping at before the month-long celebration comes to a close.
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“This is an opportunity for us to really understand what Black-owned business communities look like, and what we can do as a state to provide resources and an environment for them to succeed here,” McWhorter said.
According to the TNECD, there are 2,200 Black-owned businesses and 87,000 sole proprietors across the state, representing about 3% of the total companies in Tennessee.
A 2023 study by Maverick Merchantnamed Tennessee the second-best in the nation for Black entrepreneurs. The researchers attributed the Volunteer State’s high ranking to …