Executive leaders from Detroit’s business world are combining forces to shed light on the city’s Black business economy and the lack of support received from several sources. Teaming up to create the Detroit United Front, the group hopes to combat economic inequality and being left out of Detroit’s resurgence.
The National Business League, the Detroit Black Chamber of Commerce, and the Booker T. Washington Trade Association have created a coalition of leaders to help bring more African Americans to the table in Detroit’s economic future. Hosting their 12th Annual State of Black Business Summit, the organizations will announce new leadership and officially debut as The Detroit United Front. The summit and press conference, set for Monday, March 7, will address several key factors impacting Black CEOs, business owners, and others in the Black business community including a lack of support and resources from the philanthropic, public, and private sectors.
“As a successful Black business owner in the city of Detroit, it shouldn’t be difficult to find support and resources to address the wants and needs of Black businesses, but garnering access has been extremely difficult and cumbersome. I can’t imagine what the experience is like for those needing to be hand-held through the process,” says Dr. Cecil Forbes, founder, owner, and operator of iCare Spine and Rehabilitation Centers, PLLC.
The conference also aims at what is keeping Black professionals from the business discussions for the predominantly Black city including the outright exclusion of Black businesses based on systemic, institutional, and structural neglect.
“It is unacceptable that [in] a city that has a supermajority Black population around 79 percent and a supermajority of small businesses [of] 80%, that Black businesses can’t access capital or ecosystems that provide resources. Detroit needs new leadership at the table that will move the needle forward, producing measurable results in the community,” says Dr. Danielle Cato-Benson, founder, and chief executive of the HealHER Virtual Spa and 1:11 The Collective mental health resorts.
With speaker and scholar, Dr. Boyce Watkins, Ph.D., founder, and CEO of Boyce Watkins Enterprises as the keynote speaker, The Detroit United Front will swear in its new leadership body during the State of Black Business Summit by 36th District Chief Judge William McConnico.
During the meeting, the new leadership will reveal the state of the Black business report. The Detroit United Front will also serve as the National Business League’s Midwest Regional Office.
“These times call for unprecedented leadership and new voices at the old table, or by creating a table of our own. Insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results. Time to disrupt the insanity that produces no results for Black businesses,” says Crystal L. Gunn, founder, and CEO of the Amazing Woman Network.
The shift towards entrepreneurship in the Black community has hit unprecedented heights. During the 2020 uprising of Black activism due to the slayings of Black men and women caused by police brutality and vigilantism, companies made promises of diversity and inclusion. However, many have failed to execute their promises. Now, a new generation of entrepreneurs are leaving the corporate grind for greener pastures.
“Most of the next generation in the Black community wants to own their own businesses and make their own money, providing them the economic freedom their parents and grandparents did not experience working for someone else. Entrepreneurship will be the job of the future in the Black community,” says Bartel Welch, CEO of Red Diamond Digital.
The State of Black Business Summit and Press Conference is presented by Comerica Bank and MPS Group. Both will be held on Monday, March 7, 2022, from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at the DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Hotel Detroit at 525 W. Lafayette Blvd.
Dr. Cecil Forbes, Orena Perry, Dr. Danielle Cato-Benson, Chad Rhodes, Bartel Welch, and Crystal Gunn each will be sworn in as the organization’s leaders.
Photo: Dr. Cecil Forbes, founder, owner, and operator of iCare Spine and Rehabilitation Centers, PLLC
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