Black Business Association set to celebrate 50th anniversary with mixer and symposium

I noticed something lately about the stories I’m covering: there’s a lot of conversation in Memphis about building generational wealth. 

In April, the local chapter of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers hosted a whole week dedicated to the topic. Recently, a deputy director of the Small Business Administration spoke in  Memphis, and shortly thereafter acclaimed financial literacy advocate John Hope Bryant joined Memphis Mayor Paul Young for a conversation about it.

So maybe that’s part of why I notice myself thinking more about entrepreneurship these days. Sure, it’s going to take good hearted people in the nonprofit space to help heal Memphis, but it’s also going to take good hearted business people too – creating jobs, bringing resources, doing good while doing good. 

It’s also why I’m looking forward to connecting with other like-minded people at the Black Business Association of Memphis’ 50th Anniversary Celebration, culminating this weekend with activities aimed at celebrating the spirit of entrepreneurship in the Chocolate City we call Memphis.

On Friday, Aug. 23, a networking mixer will take place at the Stax Museum, featuring a conversation with legendary songwriter and entrepreneur David Porter. On Saturday, the Graceland Exhibition Center will host the second annual Building Wealth in the Black Community Symposium, which will include panels on women in leadership, the impact of AI on business, and insights from successful entrepreneurs like Memphis beverage manufacturing titan Carolyn Hardy.

In the lead-up to these events, Ernest Strickland, the president of the BBA, unveiled a new name and logo for the organization: Black Chamber of Memphis. Earlier in the week, he and I chatted about the association’s rich history, the enduring challenges faced by Black entrepreneurs, and the importance of fostering a mindset focused on opportunity.

Lee Eric Smith: The BBA is reaching a significant milestone with its 50th anniversary this year. What are your initial thoughts on what this moment means for Memphis and the organization?

Ernest Strickland: With the Black Business Association celebrating its 50th year anniversary, we’re reflecting on the origin of the organization—why there was a need for an entity that works specifically to ensure Black businesses have advocacy and access to technical assistance. What’s profound to us is that the need that existed 50 years ago still exists today. 

As we look at the barriers to Black business success, we still find access to capital as the number one challenge. We also see that the wealth gap in Memphis, which is a 65% African American community, is astonishing. Although there has been some progress, there’s still so much more work to do, and our mission today is as relevant as it was 50 years ago.

Smith: I was born in 1969, right at the beginning of the first post-Dr. King generation. Just before he was killed, Dr. King had pivoted his message—not just focusing on civil rights but on economic empowerment. I have to imagine that in Memphis, by 1974—just five or six years after that fateful event—this shift deeply influenced the thinking of the BBA’s founders.

Strickland: The struggle has pivoted to include a strong focus on wealth building. As I often tell people, wealth building is not just an inclusion strategy or an economic development strategy—it’s also a law enforcement strategy, an education strategy, and a health and wellness strategy. With resources and means, people have options; they can make different choices and decisions. 

When it comes to the justice-involved community, I firmly believe that circumstances, not background, are the best indicators of future behavior. Circumstances and situations drive behavior far more than background. That’s what we’re working towards: changing circumstances and situations so that people can make better choices, leading to a more equitable and robust Memphis.

Smith: It’s interesting you mention access to capital as a consistent challenge over the decades. How has the nature of this challenge evolved since the 1970s?

Strickland: The laws have certainly changed, but underwriting still remains favorable to those who had preference over time. Banks like to lend money to people who don’t need money. They evaluate you based on your balance sheet, which often includes assets accumulated over generations and passed down through inheritance. If you weren’t able to participate in the opportunity to build such an inheritance, that puts you at a disadvantage today. Although the law allows you to apply for the loan and receive it, the situation with underwriting still favors those who have historically benefited.

Smith: So how do we overcome these barriers in today’s environment?

Strickland: Overcoming these challenges takes all hands on deck. Jim Crow was public policy. Public policy helped to create the current situation, and we’ll need support in making the necessary pivots. 

For instance, we have a grant program designed to support companies in the food, hospitality, and tourism space. So far, we’ve provided over $125,000 in grants to help businesses with operating needs and innovations. But it takes intentional efforts like these to move the needle.

Smith: If you had to identify the three most favorable industries right now for African American entrepreneurs in Memphis, what would they be? 

Strickland: A recent study by the Hartford Forward Institute, showed that African Americans often start businesses based on necessity rather than opportunity. We tend to gravitate towards industries with lower barriers to entry, like retail, rather than manufacturing, where margins are higher and opportunities are greater.

I would advise leaning into our experience and expertise. Take Carolyn Hardy as a perfect example—she catapulted her career from managing manufacturing facilities to owning them. She had the experience, connections, and acumen to be profitable in manufacturing. She leveraged her experiences rather than looking externally for low-hanging opportunities.

Smith: You made a distinction between businesses born out of necessity versus those born out of opportunity. Can you explain what you meant by that?

Strickland: Sure. When we talk about businesses born out of necessity, we’re referring to those that are often started because someone’s current job isn’t providing the revenue they need, or they’ve been disconnected from the workforce due to circumstances beyond their control, like downsizing. These businesses are driven by immediate needs, rather than by seeing a market opportunity and seizing it. 

On the other hand, businesses born out of opportunity are those that are started by innovative entrepreneurs who identify a trend, like the rise of AI, and decide to leverage their skills to capitalize on it. It’s about seeing where the market is headed and positioning yourself to take advantage of it.

Smith: That’s a fascinating perspective. It seems like the mindset behind these two types of businesses is quite different.

Strickland: Absolutely. When you’re starting a business out of necessity, you’re often making choices from a place of urgency, which can limit your options. But when you’re driven by opportunity, you’re making strategic decisions that align with your skills and where the market is going. We want to encourage more of that opportunity-driven mindset, where people are leveraging their expertise and thinking about the long-term growth potential in emerging industries.

Smith: Looking ahead, the BBA has planned several events to mark this 50th anniversary. What can people expect from the upcoming mixer and symposium?

Strickland: Friday, we’ve secured David Porter, a Hall of Fame songwriter, business owner, and artist who lived through the heyday of Stax Records. He was part of the cohort that helped build Stax into a powerhouse and also witnessed its demise. If you haven’t seen the documentary on Stax, I highly recommend it—it gave me chills.

We wanted to have a conversation with David because music is one of the sectors where our community has a long-standing history of success. The goal is to revisit the lessons learned from Stax and see how we can incorporate those lessons into future opportunities. We want singers, songwriters, and entrepreneurs to gain insights, apply them to their current work, and hopefully achieve some of the success seen during the Stax era. So, that’s what we’ll be discussing on Friday at the Stax Museum with David Porter.

Smith: Sounds great. And the Symposium is on Saturday.

Strickland: On Saturday, we’ll be hosting our second annual Building Wealth in the Black Community Symposium from 9 am – 1 p.m. at the Graceland Exhibition Center. The event will feature panels on women in leadership and a conversation with Carolyn Hardy, where we’ll reverse engineer some of her successes in acquiring companies and gain insight into her current ventures.

We’re also excited to have a powerhouse speaker, Juanita McDowell, who will share strategies for elevating the Black business experience. Additionally, we’ll have a panel focused specifically on AI, exploring how Black business owners and entrepreneurs can get in on the ground floor to leverage the efficiencies and cost savings that AI offers.

Finally, I’ll be sharing an update on the vision and future of our organization. It’s going to be an action-packed day, and we invite everyone to come out and be a part of history in the making.