In their January 2023 report, "Five Ways City Leaders Can Support Black Entrepreneurs' efforts to ‘buy back the block’," the Brookings Institute, concludes local ownership of commercial real estate is a critical tool for supporting Black entrepreneurs and small business owners in retaining, growing, and scaling their businesses. They identify its importance in giving residents more control over the trajectory of neighborhood development. They affirm that policymakers across all levels of government play an important role in facilitating local ownership of commercial real estate. Leaders should listen to their community's small business owners to understand what supports are most urgently needed in order to build generational Black wealth.
In this series, keynote speaker Dr. Bruce Corrie, Professor of Economics, joins panelists HC Commissioner Jeffrey Lunde, Business and Commercial Real Estate Manager at PIPCLT Felicia Perry, and Independent Consultant for NonProfits and Small Businesses Isabel Chanslor to discuss the current projects, opportunities, and urgent actions that are needed in our communities to address this issue.