The African American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Milwaukee (AACC) seeks more visibility and a more vocal role in the procurement and development of African-American contracts. This will involve a coordinated effort by all parties. As a culturally diverse community, we cannot continue to point fingers. We must work together for the betterment of the whole community.
The African Americans input into the economic base is without parallel in this country. Over the past sixty years, the migration of southern black laborers to Milwaukee’s teeming and bustling manufacturing, brewery, and railroading industries led Milwaukee to become a world-class competitor in those markets. These economic and educational accomplishments have been overshadowed by globalization and outsourcing in these high labor-intensive sectors.
This has greatly impacted the economic health of the African American community. Neighborhoods once thrived through home ownership, family-owned businesses, coinciding with better educational opportunities. We now have boarded up homes, a migration of talent from the Milwaukee area, an epidemic of non-high school graduations as well as a preponderance of non-family own businesses within the community.
African-Americans are not benefit substantially from the globalization of the American economy. We refuse to believe there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation.
Martin Luther King’s I Have a Dream speech was given forty-one years ago just before the decline of business and employment opportunities within our community, i.e., just before the nightmare began. We now have a broken economy in the African-American community of Milwaukee, Which has seriously affected all aspects of our quality of life.
The AACC is determined to assist in the prevention and eradication of the continued erosion of entrepreneurial opportunities within the African-American community, leading to renewed hope and retention of the best and the brightest talents in our community. Left unattended, the seeds of hopelessness and despair become larger. We are mindful of the great strides our community leaders have undertaken in fostering a renewed hope in these areas. In particular, we applaud our faith based community for their ongoing achievements.
As the number of boarded up homes/businesses rise in our neighborhood, the greater the risk for failure. We must put forth a concerted effort to stop this cycle. Our ultimate goal is to improve the economic base in the community.
The ownership and operation of businesses within our community provides hope for future generations of entrepreneurs. We cannot afford to allow another generation to be forgotten/passed over.
We must keep our dream alive.
Nathan Conyers
Chairman of the AACC Board
