Shoreline Chamber hosting Black Owned Business panel discussion Wednesday

The Shoreline Chamber of Commerce is hosting a Black Owned Business panel discussion on Wednesday, January 13, 2021 and are inviting the community to attend. 

January ZOOM Luncheon Featuring a

Black Owned Business Panel Discussion

Wednesday, January 13, 2021

11:30am - 1:00pm

Join us for this FREE panel discussion, hosted by the Shoreline Chamber of Commerce via Zoom.

Across the country, the Black Lives Matter movement has mobilized communities at an unprecedented scale with its simple message that unarmed people should not be more than twice as likely to be killed by the police due to the color of their skin. 

The heightened interest in understanding bias and dismantling systems of oppression has inspired many to seek out ways to be supportive of black-owned businesses. A recent report from Yelp showed that searches for Black-owned businesses were up from approximately 35,000 last summer to more than 2,500,000 this summer. 

But as a recent Forbes.com article revealed, an extreme wealth gap persists between black and white families, hindering the formation and growth of black businesses. Since the onset of the COVID-19 economic crisis, Black entrepreneurs are hardest hit: fully 41% of Black small-business owners stopped working altogether between February and April of 2020. White small-business owners, by contrast, ceased work at less than half the rate of Black small-business owners. In light of these troubling statistics, what can be done to catalyze heightened interest in equity into action in our community?

We are excited to announce we have recruited an experienced leader in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion to facilitate a discussion with Black business leaders in our community to speak about the barriers they face, things we in the broader community can do to support diversity in our business community and attract more entrepreneurs of color, how we can introduce young people of all backgrounds to diverse business people, and the resources available to businesses owned by people from traditionally underserved communities.

Register at: https://shorelinechamberofcommerce.wildapricot.org/event-4063272