The National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) was incorporated as The National Black Chamber of Commerce, Inc., in 1993. It is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, nonsectarian organization dedicated to the economic empowerment of African 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 a 501(c) corporation and has at least 190 chapters within the United States. The NBCC also has international chapters in the Bahamas, Brazil, Colombia, Ghana and Jamaica.[1] As with all Chambers of Commerce, affiliate branches are committed to carrying out the goals of the main Chamber within their areas.

However, the organization is largely funded by non-African American businesses on behalf of whose interests it often lobbies, such as the fossil fuel, telecommunications,[2] [3] [4] and tobacco industries,[5] [6] and has sometimes been accused of being a front group.[4] [2] [7]

The NBCC is a very young national organization when compared to others such as the NAACP and the Congress 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 the United States Chamber of Commerce.[9] In an interview reported in Human Events, Mr. Alford identifies with the Booker T. Washington approach to African American self empowerment and sees the approach of W.E.B. Du Bois and the NAACP (whom he calls enemies 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 Black Diaspora.[11] It claims to be the first major African American organization to focus on economic empowerment.

The NBCC reaches 100,000 Black owned businesses. There are 1 million Black owned businesses in the United States.