Maggie Anderson delivered a heartfelt, inspiring keynote speech to a large crowd of entrepreneurs and leaders of the African-American community in Columbus, Ohio at the Columbus African American Chamber of Commerce kick-off event on November 15, 2012. Mrs. Anderson is the author of Our Black Year, a must-read book that follows the journey her family took to support only Black businesses for an entire year. She earned her MBA and JD at the University of Chicago, where she studied under President Barack Obama. As the CEO and co-founder, along with her husband John Anderson, of The Empowerment Experiment and The Empowerment Experiment Foundation, she is on tour to educate and inspire our community regarding economic empowerment. Click here to watch an overview of their journey.
Her speech was full of the rich history of Black businesses in America and the hope of what CAN be if we get behind the movement to “buy Black” and support companies that do business with Black suppliers, vendors and franchisees. With a buying power of over 1 trillion dollars in 2011, we have the power to turn things around for our community. She shared with us that if middle and upper class families in the Black community (household incomes above $75,000 per year) would increase their Black spending from the current average of 3% to just 10%, we would create 1 million jobs! We have the power and we MUST use it!
The video below is from a previous speech given at a National Urban League event.
The mission statement of the Columbus African American Chamber of Commerce includes that it is “rooted in the belief that a prosperous African American community fosters a safe nurturing environment to raise our children, own homes and businesses, and contributes to the overall well-being of Columbus.” The chamber offers the chance for business owners to collaborate, build strong partnerships, gain access to valuable resources and discounted services. The President and Founder of the organization is former Senator Ray Miller. Mr. Miller is also the Publisher of the Columbus African American News Journal and the President of the Center for Urban Progress. Call (614) 340-4890 for more information.