In December 1969, nine African-Americans met in New York City to discuss the unique challenges and limited opportunities they faced in the accounting profession. In that year, there were only 136 African-American Certified Public Accountants(CPA's) out of a total of 100,000 in the United States.

This group wanted to establish an organization to address the concerns of minorities entering the accounting profession and to make a committmentto professional and academic excellence. The following nine individuals who met that month were determined to "make a difference" and let their voices be heard.

Ronald Benjamin	Earl Biggot	Bertram Gibson
Frank Ross	Richard McNamee	Michael Winston
Kenneth Drummond	George Wallace	Donald Bristow

In 1970, NABA chartered its first professional chapter, located in New York City. From these humble beginnings, NABA has become a nationwide membership organization.