Advocates Tackle Bolstering Black Entrepreneurship In Town Hall On The State Of Black Business
By J. Cunningham – Black business leaders and supporters strategized on solutions to save African-American livelihoods at a recent virtual town hall on the state of Black-owned businesses.
The panelists discussed the specific needs of the more than two million Black-owned businesses in the United States and what should be done to ensure they survive the economic shut down wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic and protests over systemic racism.
Hosted by Doni Glover, the CEO of DMGlobal Marketing and Public Relations, the panel featured the Rev. Michael Carter, founder of Black Wall Street USA, photographer Regina Boone, Zevilla Jackson Preston, co-founder of the Black Business Empowerment Commission, Atlanta attorney Karen Hines, and Texas Metro News publisher Cheryl Smith.
The panelists agreed that Black-owned businesses were in a state of crisis, and called on the government, corporate America and the Black community itself to step up and do more – like increased access to capital, hold elected officials accountable and confront collective psychological impediments to success – in order to ensure that Black businesses thrive.
While many recent protests in the country have focused on social justice, the fight also must include economic equity, Jackson Preston said.
“As we engage in this struggle again, it has to be about economics,” Jackson Preston said, noting that Black voters needed to pay attention to the candidate who had a plan for Black economic parity. “Without economic justice, we don’t see Black people moving forward in this century.”
Smith said that the pandemic, coupled with protests and racial unrest, has left Black people in a state of “pandemonium” where Black-owned business is often overlooked. However, Smith noted the number of young people participating in recent protests showed that change was afoot, but that the community nevertheless needed to hold their elected officials responsible.
“We can’t afford to sit out this election,” Smith said, “and then we have to keep the pressure on those we elect into office – and I don’t care what color they are.”
“Black people need to stand up,” Smith added, “Now is the time for us to step up. Now is not the time for a Corona-cation!”
Black people need to embrace the tenets that allowed “Black Wall Streets,” or prosperous Black-owned business zones, to succeed, according to the Rev. Carter, including a commitment to keeping their money within the community.
“There are burgeoning Black entrepreneurs needing our support and our dollars,” the Rev. Carter said. “We must raise the level of recycling the dollars among our own people.”
Jackson Preston, of the Black Business Empowerment Commission, agreed, and called for a “PHD” agenda: “Purchase Black, Hire Black and Deposit Black.”
Saturday’s town hall was facilitated by the Black Business Empowerment Commission, a national grassroots group dedicated to supporting Black-owned businesses.
The BBEC plans to host monthly town halls on Black economics on the last Saturday of the month. The next virtual meeting will be held August 22nd at noon. Visit the BBEC’s website, www.bbecommission.org, for more information.
Black business leaders and supporters strategized on solutions to save African-American livelihoods at a virtual town hall on the state of Black-owned businesses.
The panelists discussed the specific needs of the more than two million Black-owned businesses in the United States and what should be done to ensure they survive the economic shut down wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic and protests over systemic racism.
The panel, hosted by Doni Glover, the CEO of DMGlobal Marketing and Public Relations on June 27, featured the Rev. Michael Carter, founder of Black Wall Street USA, photographer Regina Boone, Zevilla Jackson Preston, co-founder of the Black Business Empowerment Commission, Atlanta attorney Karen Hines, and Texas Metro News publisher Cheryl Smith.
The panelists agreed that Black-owned businesses were in a state of crisis, and called on the government, corporate America and the Black community itself to step up and do more – like increased access to capital, hold elected officials accountable and confront collective psychological impediments to success – in order to ensure that Black businesses thrive.
While many recent protests in the country have focused on social justice, the fight also must include economic equity, Jackson Preston said.
“As we engage in this struggle again, it has to be about economics,” Jackson Preston said, noting that Black voters needed to pay attention to the candidate who had a plan for Black economic parity. “Without economic justice, we don’t see Black people moving forward in this century.”
Smith said that the pandemic, coupled with protests and racial unrest, has left Black people in a state of “pandemonium” where Black-owned business is often overlooked. However, Smith noted the number of young people participating in recent protests showed that change was afoot, but that the community nevertheless needed to hold their elected officials responsible.
“We can’t afford to sit out this election,” Smith said, “and then we have to keep the pressure on those we elect into office – and I don’t care what color they are.”
“Black people need to stand up,” Smith added, “Now is the time for us to step up. Now is not the time for a Corona-cation!”
Black people need to embrace the tenets that allowed “Black Wall Streets,” or prosperous Black-owned business zones, to succeed, according to the Rev. Carter, including a commitment to keeping their money within the community.
“There are burgeoning Black entrepreneurs needing our support and our dollars,” the Rev. Carter said. “We must raise the level of recycling the dollars among our own people.”
Jackson Preston, of the Black Business Empowerment Commission, agreed, and called for a “PHD” agenda: “Purchase Black, Hire Black and Deposit Black.”
Saturday’s town hall was facilitated by the Black Business Empowerment Commission, a national grassroots group dedicated to supporting Black-owned businesses.
The BBEC plans to host monthly town halls on Black economics on the last Saturday of the month. The next virtual meeting will be held August 22nd at noon. Visit the BBEC’s website, www.bbecommission.org, for more information.
