In this article we are going to list the top 20 biggest black owned companies in the US. Any time blacks in the United States throughout history have tried to establish themselves, they’ve been stopped by white supremacists. Even after slavery was abolished well over a century ago, black people were treated disdainfully and were considered to be inferior by white folk, who also held all the power. This is why racism wasn’t just institutionalized, it was a national past time and this is why lynching continued to be used to suppress black people through the mid and even later 20th century. When towards the end of the 19th century, black people in the country had finally started to put slavery behind them and finally begun to make something of themselves and their lives, the Wilmington insurrection of 1898 took place, where the elected leadership was forced to resign and power was handed over to white supremacists, who lay waste to the businesses and massacred black folk without a minute’s thought.
Again, this is just one instance. An even more serious one would be the Tulsa Race Massacre in 1921 which is said to be the worst racial attack in the history of the United States. White men attacked what was known at the time as Black Wall Street, the most affluent black community in the country from land and even from air through private aircraft, destroying at least 35 blocks and killing hundreds of Africa Americans, which was subsequently shamelessly covered up by the government and no reparations were made until 1996, when a committee was formed to investigate the incident and mass graves were uncovered to counter claims of the government that only 36 people had died, of which only 26 were black. And all this despite the fact that the US is second among the countries outside Africa with the highest Black population.
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The need to support the black community may have only recently become mainstream discussion, but social entrepreneur Mandy Bowman, a Brooklyn native, has been working to reduce this disparity since 2014. Mandy Bowman is a Social Entrepreneur and Social Media Strategist who serves as the Founder and CEO of Official Black Wall Street, a platform that speaks out to support black businesses around the world. Launched in 2015 with an application in 2017, Official Black Wall Street sets out to empower the Black community through economics and ownership. Mandy has been a frontrunner of the #BuyBlack movement, aiming to help give black businesses the exposure they need.
The past year has been tough for almost everyone on the planet. For the black community, the past year has been especially difficult, with 26% of black owned business having to shut down between the first few months of 2020. This is more than double that of white owned businesses. This is why there is a strong need to support black-owned businesses and fight back against the institutionalized racism spread across the country even in 2021. This is why one of such initiatives is Google separately showing businesses which are black-owned, as a show of support.
What makes a company or business black-owned? According to the National Minority Supplier Development Council or NMSDC, a minority business enterprise is defined as a “business [that] is at least 51% owned by [United States citizens who are Asian, Black, Hispanic, and/or Native American] or, in the case of a publicly owned business, at least 51% of the stock is owned by one or more such individuals.” To put it simply, a black owned company is one which is managed and operated by black or African American owners and shareholders. NMSDC further distinguishes a black owned business as one where the owner is a US citizen of African descent. The list is referenced from Black Enterprise Top 100 List, so let’s take a look at the people leading the black business charge, starting with number 20:
20. Salamander Hotels & Resorts
Revenues: $220 Million
Employees: 2500
CEO: Sheila C. Johnson
Owned by Sheila Johnson, cofounder of Black Entertainment Television, Salamander Hotels and Resorts is a 168-room luxury hotel, resort, and spa located in the Virginia countryside. The hotel is built on a 340 acre property and boasts a 230,000 square foot spa with many outdoor activities such as hiking, zip-lining, and horseback riding. The resort took ten years to build, finally opening in August 2013.
Zvonimir Atletic/Shutterstock.com
19. Devon Industrial Group
Revenues: $234 Million
Employees: 70
CEO: David A. Burnley Sr
Devon Industrial Group is a construction company located in Michigan. They specialize in construction projects in various sectors, including commercial, health care, industrial, and educational. The Devon Industrial Group’s main target market for its services is across the midwestern states of the United States, with the headquarters in Detroit Michigan.
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18. Georgetown Metal Processing
Revenues: $235 Million
Employees: 30
CEO: Kirk Lewis
Georgetown Metal Processing is a steel processing service center, specializing in blanking and warehousing located in Georgetown, Kentucky. Their produce range includes aluminum, flat-rolled steel, cold-rolled steel, coated and exposed steel products. Georgetown Metal Processing boasts an 80,000 square foot facility, which is climate controlled due to the nature of their work.
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17. Bird Electric
Revenues: $238 Million
Employees: 587
CEO: Dale LeFebvre
Founded in 2004, Bird Electric is a leading full-service electric company. Services provided by the company include transmission, maintenance, instrumentation and electrical construction, automation, and storm restoration. Bird Electric operates in over ten states in the United States including Texas, Georgia, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, Florida, Mississippi, Idaho, California, New Mexico, Alabama, Maryland and Puerto Rico.
Dmitry Kalinovsky/Shutterstock.com
16. Baldwin Richardson Foods
Revenues: $252 Million
Employees: 350
CEO: Eric G. Johnson
Richardson Foods is a leading custom ingredients manufacturer for the food and beverage industry. It is a family owned company originally founded as Baldwin Ice Cream in Chicago. Illinois in 1921. In 1997, five years after current CEO Eric Johnson purchased the company, Baldwin Ice Cream Company purchased Richardson Foods, creating Baldwin Richardson Foods. Over the next twenty years, the retail business grew to become a custom ingredients manufacturer making many kinds of liquid products for the food industry, including condiments, sauces, and syrups.
JM Travel Photography/Shutterstock.com
15. Adams Communication & Engineering Technology
Revenues: $253 Million
Employees: 385
CEO: Charles M. Adams
Founded in Maryland in 1999 by Charles Adams, Adams Communication & Engineering Technology is a leading technology company providing services for Government Defense, Intelligence, and other Federal Agencies of the United States. The company provides products and solutions in information systems, healthcare systems, aerospace, and electronics.
Christian Lagerek/Shutterstock.com
14. Millennium Steel of Texas
Revenues: $266 Million
Employees: 86
CEO: Andrea M. Jackson
Founded in San Antonio Texas by Henry Jackson in 2005, Millennium Steel of Texas ia a steel company providing automotive grade outer body steel sheets to auto makers across the state of Texas. Their services include steel processing, warehousing, and storage.
Nestor Rizhniak/Shutterstock.com
13. Global Automotive Alliance Corporation
Revenues: $275 Million
Employees: 1647
CEO: William F. Pickard and Sylvester L. Hester
Global Automotive Alliance is a holding company of many different companies originally founded by William Pickard in 1989. It is a consolidation of logistics and automotive manufacturing companies with eight plants in the United States and Canada. GAA supplies to top three United States automakers: Ford, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler. In addition, it also supplies to other global companies such as Boeing, Mercedes Benz, Starbucks, and Home Depot.
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12. Millennium Steel Service
Revenues: $312 Million
Employees: 51
CEO: Andrea Jackson
Sister company of Millennium Steel of Texas, Millennium Steel Services is an automotive steel processing and warehousing company based in Princeton Indiana. It provides warehousing and supply chain management including inventory managements, inspection, slitting, and information technology system services.
bogdanhoda/Shutterstock.com
11. Fair Oaks Farms
Revenues: $342 Million
Employees: 257
CEO: Michael L. Thompson
Fair Oaks Farms is food services company which produces fresh, ready-to-cook, and fully cooked beef, pork, and poultry products. Products offered by the company include sausages, cured meats, smoked meats, and canned meats. Founded in 1985 in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin in the United States, Fair Oaks Farms distributes its products to a variety of national and international restaurant chains and food companies.
10. Hightowers Petroleum Co.
Revenues: $435 Million
Employees: 52
CEO: Stephen L. Hightower
Operating for over 58 years, Hightowers Petroleum Co. is a petroleum products distribution company founded by Stephen “Steve” Hightower in 1982. Coming from a family of entrepreneurs, Hightower built the company from humble beginnings to a well-established business through persistence, drive, and determination. It is a family business providing services in bulk fuel delivery, HPC fleet cards, inventory management, emergency fuel, and supply chain managements.
Kanok Sulaiman/Shutterstock.com
9. Urban One (NASDAQ:UONEK)
Revenues: $440 Million
Employees: 1058
CEO: Alfred C. Liggins III
Based in Silver Spring, Maryland, Urban One Inc is a publishing and broadcasting company primarily providing content aimed at the African American community. Self-titled as the “leading voice speaking to Black America “, Urban One Inc is the largest distributor of urban content in the United States since 1980. It is the largest Black-owned broadcasting company in the united states, with 53 radio stations, cable network TV One, digital media company iOne, and news provider NewsOne all under its belt.
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8. The Anderson-Dubose Company
Revenues: $703 Million
Employees: 543
CEO: Warren E. Anderson
Launched in 1991, The Andersons-Dubose Company is a distribution company providing logistics services to McDonalds and Chipotle fast food restaurants in the states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and West Virginia in the United States. Their services roster includes transportation of groceries, happy meal toys, paper products, dairy products, frozen meat and fish, and other food products. The Anderson Dubose Company operated from two locations, one is a 210,497 square foot facility in Lordstown, Ohio and the other is in Rochester, New York.
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7. Thompson Hospitality
Revenues: $760 Million
Employees: 6,000
CEO: Warren M. Thompson
Thompson Hospitality Corporation is a food and facilities management company providing hospitality services in the United States. It is the largest minority-owned Food Service and one of the largest Retail Food and Facilities Management companies in the United States. Thompson Hospitality Corporation was originally founded as a restaurant company in 1992 and has now branched out to offer all services of the hospitality industry.
In 2010, the company was awarded the Black Enterprise Award of Company of the Year. In 2017, Washington Business Journal ranked it #1 Minority Owned Company. In 2019 they were again recognized by Washington Business Journal as the Largest Independent Employer Company.
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6. Bridgeman Foods
Revenues: $870 Million
Employees: 20,000
CEO: Ryan Bridgeman
Located in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, United States, Bridgeman Foods is a part of the fast-food and quick-service restaurants industry. Formerly known as Manna Inc, Bridgeman Foods was founded in 1988 in Louisville, Kentucky. Currently Bridgeman Foods affiliates operate 139 Wendy’s restaurants, 27 Golden Corral Buffet and Grill restaurants, 83 Fazoli’s restaurants, 6 Mark’s Feed Store restaurants, 7 Blaze Pizza restaurants, Napa River Grill, Jimmy John’s, and The Layover Bar.
Pixabay/Public Domain
5. Modular Assembly Innovations
Revenues: $1,042 Million
Employees: 259
CEO: Billy R. Vickers
Modular Assembly Innovations is one of the United States’ largest black-owned businesses. Based in Dublin, Ohio, Modular Assembly Innovations is the parent corporation of a group of certified, minority-owned companies part of the Machinery Manufacturing industry. MAI companies include Great Lakes Assemblies, Gulf Shore Assemblies, Indiana Assemblies, and North American Assemblies. These are all aware winning, tier one suppliers of automotive parts to customers in both the United States and abroad.
Pixabay/Public Domain
4. Coca-Cola Beverages Florida
Revenues: $1,310 Million
Employees: 4,800
CEO: Troy D. Taylor
A family owned company, Coca-Cola Beverages Florida L.L.C. is an independent Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) beverage bottler company with over 18 million consumers across 47 counties of the state of Florida. This includes all the major metropolitan markets of Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando, and Tampa. Coca-Cola Beverages Florida L.L.C. , or Coke Florida as it’s known for short, manufactures, sells, and distributes over 600 products of the giant Coca Cola Company as well as many other partner companies.
Coca-Cola Beverages Florida has received a number of awards. They received the Minority Business Enterprise Supplier of the Year Class IV honor in 2020. The Florida State Minority Supplier Development Council also recognized Coca-Cola Beverages Florida L.L.C. as the Supplier of the Year Class IV in the same year.
Pixabay/Public Domain
3. Bridgewater Interiors L.L.C
Revenues: $ 1,969 Million
Employees: 2,400
CEO: Ronald E. Hall Jr.
Founded over 20 years ago, Bridgewater Interiors is an automotive seating manufacturing company based in Detroit, Michigan. The company specializes in JIT (just-in-time) manufacturing, sequencing, and delivery of seating in automotive vehicles. The company does assembly for 15 car models belonging to four automotive manufacturers. Bridgewater Interiors has four facilities at its two locations, three in Michigan and one in Alabama.
Bridgewater Interiors L.L.C has received a number of accolades throughout the years. In 2013, the U.S. Department of Commerce, through its Minority Business Development Agency, named Bridgewater Interiors its Manufacturer of the Year. General Motors (NYSE:GM), Honda (NYSE:HMC), and Ford (NYSE:F) have all recognized Bridgewater Interiors for their quality and service.
Pixabay/Public Domain
2. Act 1 Group
Revenues: $2,800 Million
Employees: 2,000
CEO: Janice Bryant Howroyd
ActOne Group is a privately held corporation based in Torrance, California founded in 1964. The ActOne Group, stylized as Act 1 Group, is a global enterprise that provided employment, workforce management, and procurement solutions to a wide range of industries. ActOne is the largest debt-free woman-owned, minority-owned workforce management company in the United States. ActOne is a global leader in the human resources industry and currently operates in 19 countries around the world with 17,000 clients and 2,600 employees worldwide.
The CEO, Janice Bryant Howroyd was awarded winner of the 2016 Peter Yessne Staffing Leadership Award for all her efforts.
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1. World Wide Technology
Revenue: $11,287.419 Million
Employees: 5,378
CEO: David L. Steward
Topping the list of 20 biggest black-owned companies in the United States is technology solution provider World Wide Technology with $11.2 billion in annual revenue and more than 5,000 employees. Founded in 1990, World Wide Technology provides supply-chain technology to 45% of Fortune 500 companies. The company provides information technology and software solutions. Some of the world’s most recognizable brands are WWT’s customers, namely Boeing, Cisco, AT&T, Microsoft, and the US Air Force. World Wide Technology employs more than 3,800 people and operates in more than 20 facilities throughout the world.
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Disclosure: No position. Top 20 biggest black-owned companies in the US is originally published at Insider Monkey.
