TheNational Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) was incorporated asThe National Black Chamber of Commerce, Inc., in 1993. It is anonprofit,nonpartisan,nonsectarianorganization dedicated to the economicempowerment ofAfrican American communities. Additionally, the organization indicates that it represents the views of its members regarding economic and political policy issues; domestically and internationally. It is organized as a501(c) corporation and has at least 190 chapters within the United States. The NBCC also has international chapters in theBahamas,Brazil,Colombia,Ghana andJamaica.[1] As with allChambers of Commerce, affiliate branches are committed to carrying out the goals of the main Chamber within their areas.
The NBCC is a very young national organization when compared to others such as theNAACP and theCongress on Racial Equality (CORE). NBCC was founded in 1993 by Harry C. Alford and his wife Kay DeBow.[8] Alford, who serves as the first President and CEO, is also a board member of theUnited States Chamber of Commerce.[9] In an interview reported inHuman Events, Mr. Alford identifies with theBooker T. Washington approach to African American self empowerment and sees the approach ofW.E.B. Du Bois and theNAACP (whom he callsenemies of Washington) as primarily political.[10]
The stated mission of the NBCC is to "economically empower and sustain African American communities through entrepreneurship and capitalistic activity within the United States and via interaction with the BlackDiaspora".[11] It claims to be the first major African American organization to focus on economic empowerment.
NBCC has also received funding from and lobbied on behalf of the tobacco industry. Tobacco companyAltria was scheduled to sponsor the 2004 Fall Summit meeting inNegril,Jamaica.[19] It had previously received funding from Altria's predecessorPhilip Morris Companies Inc and from theR. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, and facilitated marketing access to its members.[6] In March 2011, Alford appeared before aU. S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel to oppose proposed restrictions onmenthol cigarettes, which are used disproportionately by African Americans. In doing so, he sided withLorillard, whose major product was mentholatedNewport cigarettes, and which had been an NBCC member since 2008, paying $35,000 in dues annually.[5]
NBCC has also received funding from and lobbied on behalf of the telecommunications industry.Verizon was listed as a funder of NBCC,[3][4] which has in turn lobbied theFederal Communications Commission (FCC) againstnet neutrality and other telecommunications industry regulations.[3][4] NBCC also voiced support for a proposed merger betweenAT&T andT-Mobile.[5]
In testimony submitted to theSenateCommittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions regarding Senate Bill S.625, the NBCC stated that it opposes increased the U.S.Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulation of tobacco. The reason for its opposition is that the regulation would impose fees affecting small tobacco retailing and distribution businesses in the U.S., many of which are owned byBlack Americans.[24]
In public comments regarding theMicrosoft antitrust case, the NBCC along with the Telecommunications Research and Action Center and the NationalNative American Chamber of Commerce indicated that the case settlement was inadequate in terms of consumer protection and that additional remedies were required.[25]
In 2015 the NBCC opposed theEnvironmental Protection Agency'sClean Power Plan.[13][17] In June 2015 NBCC released a report entitledPotential Impact of Proposed EPA Regulations on Low Income Groups and Minorities;[17] theUnion of Concerned Scientists said the report "relies on misleading claims cut-and-pasted from several previously debunked reports."[27][29] Seven newspapers publishedop-eds from the NBCC saying that the Plan will impose "economic hardship" on blacks and Hispanics; none of the newspapers disclosed NBCC's funding from the Exxon Mobil Foundation.[13]
