The African American Chamber of Commerce of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware (AACC) hosted its second annual National Convening of Black Mayors roundtable Thursday at WHYY studios.
Mayors from across the country discussed the systemic barriers and challenges that prevent Black-owned businesses from succeeding in their local municipalities.
The mayors also talked about the solutions local governments could use to help remove these barriers and generate more Black-owned businesses in their communities.
“I believe today’s conversation is another step towards a more just and equitable future,” said Regina Hairston, president/CEO of the AACC. “It is true that African Americans in this country have made leaps and bounds of progress, but there are still ways to go in reversing historic disinvestment and ensuring that the 228-year Black-white wealth gap is closed and that our Black-owned businesses can thrive in today’s post-pandemic economy.”
Those participating in the roundtable discussion included Mayor Hardie Davis Jr. of Augusta, Ga.; Mayor Derek Slaughter of Williamsport, Pa.; Mayor Judy Ward of Pleasantville, N.J.; Deputy Mayor William Morgan of Chester, Pa.; Karl Singleton, chief equity and compliance officer of Harrisburg, Pa., and former mayor of Philadelphia Michael Nutter. Other mayors submitted videos that were played during the roundtable.
During the first part of the roundtable, each mayor took turns discussing the issues that their cities faced while attempting to revitalize their Black-owned business communities.
“The pandemic, as we all know, most certainly crippled a good amount of Black-owned business and we saw that in the city of Chester,” Morgan said. “With the monies that the city received from the government … we earmarked a portion of that money for business assistance grants and there was an issue with that, as the federal government had quite a bit of restrictions in regards to that.”
“Our problem is getting businesses to come to our city,” said Ward of Pleasantville, N.J. “We have contracted out, we have done searches, we have done everything and we just can’t attract businesses to the city and I don’t know why.’
The second part of the roundtable focused on finding possible solutions to the problems that these mayors and their Black-owned business communities were facing.
‘We cannot highlight enough the importance of a disparity study,” said Harrisburg’s Singleton. “If you do not have a disparity study from which to gain your footing, you do not have a legally defensible argument.”
Philadelphia’s Nutter said solutions go beyond words.
“It is about intentionality,” he said. “You just can’t be afraid to say we want to support Black, brown, or purple minority businesses.”
Read the complete article at: Philly Trib
