Author, investor and financial educator John Hope Bryant didn’t come to Memphis just to inspire — he came with instructions.
“Move your credit score 100 points,” he told hundreds at the Memphis Area Minority Contractors Association Gala at the Cadre Building Oct. 23. “If everyone did that, you’d generate $750 billion in Black wealth — without asking the government for anything.
“Nothing will change your life — more than God or law — like raising that score,” Bryant said, pacing the stage. “This is the civil-rights work of our time.”
It was a simple challenge, delivered with preacher-like urgency and economic precision — one that captured the spirit of Bryant’s hour-long keynote. Blending humor, history and hard data, the founder and CEO of Operation HOPE called on Memphis’ construction community to lead what he called “the third reconstruction”— a new era defined not by freedom or access but by ownership.
“Financial literacy is the civil-rights issue of this generation,” he said. “AI literacy will be how we future-proof ourselves. But nothing — more than God or law — will change your life like moving your credit score 120 points.”
‘Building Together in Unity’
The evening’s theme, “Building Together in Unity,” set the tone long before Bryant took the podium.
“Right now, the national narrative is so much about division,” said Aynsley Clark, MAMCA’s executive director. “We wanted to push the message of unity because that’s where we’ll see real success. If we can break those barriers, we can do great things in Memphis.”
Clark said MAMCA’s membership ranges from small start-ups and handymen to large commercial general contractors.
“Our goal is to help them all grow — from the smallest to the largest — so that as our bigger members build capacity, they can bring others along,” she said.
Mayor Paul Young praised that approach in brief remarks, calling minority- and women-owned firms “the key to solving Memphis’ toughest challenges.”
“You all have the answers,” he told the crowd. “It’s about putting money in people’s pockets and changing what they see around them.”
Honoring excellence
The gala also celebrated leaders whose vision and perseverance have expanded opportunity in Memphis’ construction and contracting community.
Floyd Veasley, president and CEO of Veasley’s Paving Services Inc., received the Pioneer Award for his trailblazing leadership and decades of commitment to high-quality infrastructure work across the Mid-South.
Xavier Robinson, president and CEO of Robinson Mechanical Services LLC (RMS), earned the Legacy Builder Award, recognizing his role in mentoring younger contractors and sustaining Black-owned excellence in mechanical and industrial construction.
Dr. Reginald Coopwood, president and CEO of Regional One Health, was honored with the Commitment to Diversity Award for his efforts to ensure minority-owned firms share in the billion-dollar redevelopment of Regional One’s new medical campus.
“We made it clear on the front end that you’re not going to come in here, design and build this hospital and take the money back to other communities,” Coopwood told attendees. “We deserve great health care in this community, and we’ll fight hard to make that happen.”
As the night drew to a close, Bryant’s words lingered — a mix of challenge, faith and humor that captured both the struggle and promise of Memphis.
On laziness and responsibility: “Love is work. Non-love is laziness. Anti-love is evil,” he said, his tone shifting from humor to conviction. “Most people aren’t bad; they’re just lazy — intellectually lazy, spiritually lazy, financially lazy. They don’t want to do the work, but they want somebody else to do it for them.”
On the need to learn artificial intelligence: “Your job won’t be taken by AI; it’ll be taken by somebody who understands AI,” Bryant said. “This isn’t (like) going from cassette to CD; it’s (like) going from the horse and buggy to the car. It’s going to change every part of your life, whether you like it or not. And it’s not going to take 15 years; it’s going to take five.”
On racism being stupid: “Racism is stupid. God knew what He was doing,” he told the crowd, after tracing the evolution of human features from Africa to Norway. “If I hate white people, I hate myself. We’re all mixed. We’re all God’s children. And we’ve been playing this stupid game for 400 years, poor people against poor people, while the rich just watch.”
On recognizing history in real time: “History doesn’t feel historic when you’re sitting in it. It just feels like another day. But that doesn’t mean the moment isn’t historic. Dr. King wrote ‘Letter from a Birmingham Jail’ on newspaper and toilet tissue. The secretary who typed it up balled up the newspaper and tissue and threw it in the trash. She didn’t recognize (she was holding on to history) — and that’s how most of us miss our own moment.”
