[ad_1]
As president of the Urban Chamber of Commerce for more than 13 years, Ken Evans is handing the reins to a new generation of leaders in an organization dedicated to the success of Southern Nevada’s Black business community.
Members of the Chamber of Commerce celebrated the appointment of Democratic Rep. Cameron “CH” Miller, 42, earlier this month at Classic Jewel’s downtown lounge and bar. Evans, 60, said the change was critical to maintaining the organization’s momentum. The organization is a business resource hub on the Historic Westside, offering workshops, roundtables, and summits to help locals become successful business owners.
“I’m excited [passing the torch] Because I strongly believe that you can come in and do what you can and pass the torch to someone else to take it to another level.Mining, Energy, Criminal Justice, Hospitality etc. black industry executives and state leaders.
Black-owned businesses in Southern Nevada make up 2% of the business community, the lowest among minority groups, but black Nevadans make up 12% of residents, according to UNLV’s 2021 Equity Report. occupies nearby Asian-owned businesses are “overvalued” in the business community, accounting for 12% of business owners and 10% of the population.
Evans said Miller looks forward to connecting with current members of the organization and building the next generation of business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs who can contribute to “the national and global economic development of Southern Nevada.” said there is.
“The Chamber of Commerce has done a lot of great things to get us to this point,” Miller said. “So I’m looking forward to literally standing on their shoulders and getting as far as I can.”
A Democrat in the House for a second term, Miller will lead a bipartisan organization while serving in Congress this spring.
He said that despite moving to Northern Nevada for more than 100 days, a great team and a strong vision could make it successful in the first year.
“They can continue to be supported,” Miller said of the Chamber of Commerce members. [expect] We want to find new ways to help the business community thrive. ”
A change of leadership took place last month after the city of Las Vegas donated the building housing the Urban Chamber to the organization’s non-profit arm.
As president and CEO, Miller will conduct an audit to determine what needs to be changed, what needs to be kept, and what can be ended with the city chamber of commerce. Said to start with
“Whenever there’s a changing of the guard, in my opinion, we need to fully understand and appreciate what’s going on right now,” he said.
Miller said that after that evaluation, the members could expect “new twists and new things with twists.”
Miller and Evans said the transition to younger generations of leaders isn’t just reflected in new presidents and CEOs. The Executive Committee now has a majority of “next generation” leaders, including civil rights attorneys, mental health professionals and engineers.
Evans cites the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. as an example of black baby boomer leadership failure, and the importance of early and intentional placement of young black leaders to stabilize economic growth. said.
Evans said of King, “He had slipped into the economic development agenda.” In fact, they were trying to draw attention to America.”
He said King’s death not only devastated the black community, but his generation felt as though they had lost nearly 50 years of progress.
Structural and systemic racism traps millions of African Americans in multigenerational cycles of poverty. According to University of California, Berkeley economist Gabriel Zucman, since the mid-1960s, the average wealth of blacks has been about 15% that of whites.
“So from our standpoint at the Chamber, we say we can’t let it collapse for more than 50 years.”
[ad_2]
Source link
