Declaring each Friday in December 2025 as "Shop Black Business Friday" in the City of Philadelphia.

Declaring each Friday in December 2025 as “Shop Black Business Friday” in the City of Philadelphia. 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 are enjoyed by visitors to Philadelphia and its residents and 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, Analysis from Drexel University found that while Black individuals make up 43% of the City population, only 5.4% of businesses operating within Philadelphia’s City limits are Black-owned; and WHEREAS, A Pew analysis of Black business density in Philadelphia found an increase of 75 businesses per 1,000 Black residents, achieving the highest density total in decades; and WHEREAS, Despite this local increase, Black business ownership has grown even faster nationwide resulting in Philadelphia’s total Black business density falling further behind the national level and among the lowest of our peer localities; and WHEREAS, The Pew Research Center reports that while the number of Black-owned businesses is growing in the U.S., majority Black-owned firms accounted for only approximately…