Black Church Means Business

The Black Church Means Business Conference addresses the disparity between the economic growth of the Black community compared to that of other ethnic groups; the spending power of the Black community and the lack of business loans extended; the lack of respect and community sensitivity of businesses profiting in the Black communities.

The annual Black Church Means Business Conference, organized by a coalition of church, business and community leaders, recently announced plans to focus this year’s conference on the national wave of racial injustices and the need for an economic solution.

 

“We are painfully aware of many of the cases of racial injustices perpetrated against the Black community on a local as well as a national scale.  The Jena 6, Megan Williams in West Virginia, Attorneys Michael & Evelyn Warren in Brooklyn, Sean Bell in Queens, and a slew of other recent incidents sadly reminds us that racism is alive and well in America,” explains Rev. Marline Thomas from the Brooklyn Christian Center.

 

The Black Church Means Business Conference, originally established in 1994, is credited for much of the economic energy within the Black community, and is responsible for connecting hundreds of Black churches, organizations and businesses with millions of dollars in corporate contracts, grant awards and diverse business opportunities.

“We are very proud of our accomplishments over these years, but we do recognize that New York’s Black community has a long way to go,” attested Rev. Dennis Dillon, the pastor of the Brooklyn Christian Center and the chief architect of the annual conference.  Dillon contends that although the buying power of Blacks is the strongest in the city, the lack of business and real estate ownership essentially means that Blacks lack economic clout, which leaves this community weak and vulnerable.

 

“There is a major gap in terms of Black business, wealth and real estate ownership that gives rise to the absolute disregard and the ultimate disrespect of our people and community.  Ownership and control changes everything,” Dillon said.

 

The Black Church Means Business Conference will present its 2007 edition of this 2-day exposition and information session on Friday and Saturday, October 12 and 13, 2007, in Brooklyn at The Eden Palace.  The conference, which brings together church and business leaders, corporate representatives and government officials, addresses franchising, bank loans and commercial products, procurement and supplier opportunities, real estate development, job and career options, and a number of other key areas of great concern to the Black community.

 

“This kind of conference is very results oriented, and we are serious about making an impact and breaking the racial divide,” Rev. Thomas contends.

 

The Black Church Means Business Conference addresses the disparity between the economic growth of the Black community compared to that of other ethnic groups; the spending power of the Black community and the lack of business loans extended; the lack of respect and community sensitivity of businesses profiting in the Black communities.

 

Piloted by Rev. Dennis Dillon following his startling information packed research report on The Economic State of Black New York, the conference has blossomed each year to include more participating companies, community and business leaders, and churches.  Steady and significant is the growth of the Youth & Business Conference, which exposes our youth to a vast amount of career paths and business options, featuring interactive workshops on banking, wealth management, franchising, the stock market, the business of fashion, real estate and more.  The youth will also participate in a Corporate Lunch Tour, where participating companies will host 15 to 20 young people for lunch, a tour of their facility, and an informal lecture and information on how the company works.  A new addition this year is a MACY*S sponsored Essay Contest where the winner will receive a $500 gift card, and a Business Plan Competition where the winner will receive $1,000 for business start-up.

 

Produced by The New York Christian Times, this year’s conference combines the spiritual and the economic to boast two exciting additions:  1)  Air Jamaica sponsored Gospel Choir Talent Expostiion (the winning choir receives 30 round trip tickets and accommodations in Jamaica), and 2) a Career and Job Fair, where the human resources departments of participating companies will provide jobs and business opportunities to those in attendance.

 

For further information about the conference and to register, please call 718-638-6397 or click on the following links:

http://blackchurchmeansbusiness.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13&Itemid=27
 
Conference Itinerary. Special Events.
http://blackchurchmeansbusiness.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=22&Itemid=36
 
Conference Schedule
http://blackchurchmeansbusiness.com/PDFs/schedule2007.pdf
 
 
E- Mail   <[email protected]>


To subscribe to or advertise in New York’s leading Pan African weekly investigative newspaper, please call (212) 481-7745 or send a note to
[email protected]
“Speaking Truth To Empower.”

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *