Governor Tim Walz greeting local Black Business leaders in Detroit Friday
As the final countdown to Election Day intensifies, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz met with local Black Business leaders on Friday, bringing renewed attention to Vice President Kamala Harris’ Opportunity Agenda. The agenda, a core pillar of the administration’s vision for equity, includes a dedicated focus on the “Opportunity Agenda for Black Men,” which aims to address systemic barriers in employment, business growth, education, and healthcare that have historically limited the economic mobility of Black Americans.
“In these closing days, we are making sure the message that we’ve been delivering is that the Harris administration is going to deliver and deliver that opportunity economy, and making sure everybody is very focused on that,” Walz said.
Hosted at the iconic Westin Book Cadillac in downtown Detroit, the roundtable brought together prominent Black business leaders, entrepreneurs, and community advocates from across the region.
Sitting in conversation with Brian E. Nelson, senior Policy Advisor for the Harris/Walz campaign, led the discussion with Charity Dean, President and CEO of the Metro Detroit Black Business Alliance (MDBBA), local business owner Lane Coleman, Elected Board Chair of the Detroit Institute of Arts, Trey Baker, Senior Advisor for the Harris/Walz campaign, and Shauna Vercher Morrow of Mario Morrow & Associates.
Reginald Hartsfield, Owner of Advantage Management Group, highlighted that young voters in Detroit are still deciding whether or not to vote and for whom.
“I was talking to a young man yesterday, and asked him if he was going to vote, and he said, ‘I’m not going to vote for Trump, but I can’t vote for Kamala either because I’ve had issues with the criminal justice system all my life and she represents that,” Hartsfield said.
Hartsfield said, ” It hurt my heart to hear that,” but explained they continued the conversation and weighed the pros and cons of the election. By the end of the conversation, the young voter had made a decision to at least vote.
Walz said he was happy to hear the conversations happening on the ground locally and is encouraged by the young people’s apparent engagement.
“I really appreciate the vice president focusing on those early opportunities (criminal justice, early childhood, and home ownership) and the access to capital. I think you hear too much of this, and I think having a leader like vice president, communities know what they need, what they don’t need, as gatekeepers, and they don’t need folks stopping the capital from getting to them,” Walz said.
Walz, pivoted the conversation to expanding resources and creating new pathways for Black-owned businesses, the agenda proposes several key initiatives: improving access to capital, fostering mentorship programs, and investing in workforce development.
“As community leaders, you know this first hand, we really learned a lesson during COVID, and we turn to communities that are in the know and were able to build the trust. It made us start looking at, how do we move and VP talking about bringing grants to the community for small business ownership,” Walz said.
Walz emphasized that once these initiatives are in place, they will help bridge the economic gaps that have long challenged Detroit’s Black community, particularly in industries where Black entrepreneurs remain underrepresented.
With its rich history of Black entrepreneurship, Detroit has long struggled against economic adversity. Many Black-owned businesses in the city face hurdles such as limited access to financing, a lack of representation in certain sectors, and barriers to scaling operations. Charity Dean is leading the charge to make sure this doesn’t continue to be an issue.
“We have over 1700 black-owned businesses across the state. And I myself, even though I run the organization, I’m a small business owner, I own a cafe (Rosa Cafe) on the west side of Detroit, and what we’ve seen in the past three years, right, is this black business boom,” Dean said.
“I was thrilled to hear the Vice President announce her policies for small business. You don’t often hear that in a presidential campaign, an actual agenda for small business.”
Governor Walz further explained that through Harris’ Opportunity Agenda, these businesses could find the resources they need to overcome these obstacles. He discussed potential funding allocations for small business loans, grants to support new ventures, and partnerships between the public and private sectors that could facilitate long-term growth in Black neighborhoods.
“Let’s just acknowledge that the systemic barrier of access to capital benefit problem. When we finally had a Black-owned bank in Minnesota where this money was going to start making those loans, and again, it came out of COVID, what we understood was trusted was already in the community,” Walz said.
Governor Walz assured Dean and other leaders that Harris’ agenda aims to do just that. He explained that the administration was aware of the concerns and was working to shape policies that would offer more direct support to Black business owners across the country.
“Why are resources going here? Because they have been underserved, and I think this whether it’s $20,000 grants, forgivable grants, forgivable loans, and a $50,000 tax credit. But making sure, if you have established organizations like yourself, Charity, what role can we play in making that happen so it doesn’t appear like it’s too disconnected,” Walz said.
As Election Day draws near, the emphasis on mobilizing voters has taken center stage in discussions, alongside the pressing issues that shape voter priorities. There’s a heightened sense of urgency to engage individuals and encourage them to cast their votes, ensuring that their voices are heard in this pivotal moment, especially the Black vote.
Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey recently expressed her hopefulness and shared that since early voting began on October 19, about 22,000 people in Detroit have already cast their votes at early voting locations, and 81,000 have sent in their absentee ballots. She predicts that by Election Day on November 5, around 35,000 people will take advantage of early voting, 100,000 will submit absentee ballots, and approximately 150,000 will vote in person at the polls.
Friday’s event was one of several voter engagement efforts by Walz today; Taylor, Flint, and Traverse City are the scheduled stops during the Michigan tour. Earlier in the week, he joined a discussion with Black voters at a restaurant in West Philadelphia, where he delivered a similar message on the importance of supporting Democratic candidates up and down the ballot.
Harris will be in Lansing this weekend for that last push to the polls ahead of Tuesday’s election day.
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