August is Black Business Month. Here are the Miami events to check out
August is national Black Business Month, and the Miami-Dade Economic Advocacy Trust wants Black entrepreneurs and residents interested in entrepreneurship to know what resources are available to them.
To help, the Trust has put together a month full of programming that includes seminars, fireside chats and networking events.
- Aug. 4 – Miami-Dade County’s Support Black Owned Business 305 Launch Event 6 p.m., The Urban, 1000 NW Second Ave., Miami
- Aug. 9 - Youth Services Reception Honoring Volunteers, 6 p.m. Florida International University Koven Center, 3000 NE 151st St., North Miami
- Aug. 10 - Youth Power Summit - 9 a.m. Florida International University Koven Center, 3000 NE 151st St., North Miami
- Aug. 11 - Event for Black homeowners with Dr. Andre M. Perry – 6 p.m. Ampersand Studios One NE 17th St., Miami
- Aug. 17 - Workshop with Curate 360 – 10 a.m. South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center, 10950 SW 211 St, Cutler Bay
- Aug. 24 - Workshop with Curate 360 - 10 a.m. Arcola Lakes Library, 8240 NW 7th Ave, Miami
Miami-Dade County Commissioner Kionne McGhee is one of the most vocal advocates for Black Business Month in Miami and played an integral role in launching the month’s programming.
McGhee noted that African Americans own 11%, or 51,000 of Miami-Dade County’s 468,000 businesses, and said the county needs to do more to support them.
“Most Black entrepreneurs lack access to capital,” he said.
Williams Diggs, executive director of the Miami-Dade Economic Advocacy Trust (MDEAT), worked closely with McGhee for the month’s events. Diggs is also a proponent for raising awareness around Black Business Month and supporting Miami’s Black business community. He believes that the decision to create such programming is as much an economic one as it is an ethical one.
“The city wouldn’t be what it was if Black folk didn’t sign on the dotted line to create Miami,” he said, referencing the inclusion of Black laborers in the 1896 vote to incorporate the city of Miami. “Black entrepreneurs have always been at the forefront of what drives the economy. This is the chance for us to highlight what we know is already out there.”
As a Black entrepreneur, Coconut Grove native William Berry is the president of Able Business Services, Inc. and understands the importance of information for others like him. Berry worked as the regional administrator for the Florida Department of Labor Division of Blind Services Miami-Dade County for 31 years before launching a company that has chemical holdings and offers janitorial services in December 2000.
Berry remembers having to mortgage his house to manage payroll right as he received his first million-dollar contract. Since then, he has worked to ensure that younger Black entrepreneurs understand how to secure city contracts and access resources that they did not know existed. He found that many companies never worked with a Black-owned business before.
“As a Black businessperson, more times than not, in terms of the contracts you engage in, most cases the people who are in charge haven’t had the chance to work with a Black-owned company,” he said. “A lot of times you have implied biases in place that can negate your success You are kind of fighting uphill. You have to be 150% as opposed to 100% and prove yourself.”
This story was originally published August 1, 2022 at 6:17 PM.
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