Georgia Black Business Owners Participate in Summit to Create Economic Solutions for Black America
The conversation of Black business and community leaders supports urgent bipartisan solutions.
Georgia Black Business Owners Participate in Summit to Create Economic Solutions for Black America
The conversation of Black business and community leaders supports urgent bipartisan solutions.
Atlanta/November 14, 2022/BPALiveWire – Black leaders converged in Atlanta on Saturday to address crises of crippling inflation devastating Black business owners. The event hosted by Concerned Communities for America will use the input gathered to develop a unique “Contract with Black America” that focuses on achievable, bipartisan solutions. Tailored solutions by local stakeholders work best because they know what their communities need.
“We know that top-down solutions devised by career politicians and lobbyists don’t work for the Black community,” said Bruce LeVell, a national advocate for Black small business and former federal official. “It’s been over five decades since Washington declared ‘The War on Poverty,’ and the racial wealth gap just keeps getting bigger because these policies are not addressing the real issues affecting the Black community.”
“Black folks have been left behind by politicians who use us as political pawns to advance their own interests and agendas. It’s time for us to advance our own agenda,” said DaQuawn Bruce, executive director of CCA.
The inaugural conversation in Atlanta is the first in a bipartisan effort led by Black community leaders working with politicians from both parties to demand real solutions to issues that disproportionately impact Black communities like inflation, crime, policing, food deserts and community disinvestment.
The Atlanta event was held in Stonecrest, Georgia, at the New Black Wall Street Market. In addition to the solutions-driven roundtable, participants took part in a tour of the future locations Lecester (Bill) Allen’s development sites and entrepreneurship training center.
The conversations will bring together business owners, community leaders, and local government officials who know best what their communities need. Their input will be used to develop a “Contract with Black America” that presents achievable, bipartisan solutions for the Black community.
Archived Livestream: Concerned Communities for America and @imageskprattii on Facebook as well as @imageskprattii on YouTube
source: BPALiveWire
Local business leaders convene to help Black businesses grow
Channel 2 gets real about income disparities between white families and those from the Black and brown communities.
The U.S. Federal Reserve points to long-standing barriers like housing discrimination and a lack of access when it comes to income equality, but some business leaders are trying to change that.
Recently, Channel 2′s Dave Huddleston was in DeKalb County at the new Black Wall Street in Stonecrest recently, where he was looking into a program that is helping small businesses grow.
On Saturday, there was a forum where people learned the best practices on how to grow their businesses and generational wealth.
“Access to capital. The insurance industry right now is really crazy,” Kevin Pratt said.
Pratt and his wife, Moira, started a video recording and streaming service in 2020. They said that it can be hard to know the ins and outs of running a successful company.
“There’s a lot of Black businesses that exist, especially here in Georgia, they just need to understand where the connections are,” Pratt said.
“We’ve been privileged and blessed, let’s go out and advocate and use that wealth of knowledge and influence of their business leaders and bring them all over from the state of Georgia,” Bruce Levell said.
Levell is the owner of Dunwoody Diamonds and a former advisor to ex-President Donald Trump. Levell hosted a small business forum on how to apply for credit, loans and build financial wealth.
“When financial crashes hit or pandemics hit, other cultures have been blessed to have three or four generations they have a stronger chance of sustainability,” Levell said.
The U.S. Federal Reserve said Black and brown households have only 15% to 20% of the net worth of white families. Levell said home ownership and owning a business are good ways to close income disparity and sharing best practices can grow your business, especially for people like the Pratts.
Bridging the wealth gap between Black and brown communities and helping Black businesses grow
As seen on WSB - TV Channel 2 in Atlanta, GA