Business Leaders of Colors partners with city, Tompkins Chamber, for Black-owned business list
Gladys Brangman, Founder of Business Leaders of Colors (BLOC)
View original article on Ithaca.com
The City of Ithaca, Tompkins County Chamber and the local organization Business Leaders of Colors have created a living document that will serve to provide the community with a consistently updated list of Black-owned businesses around Tompkins County.
The list was born out of a spreadsheet started on the Mutual Aid Tompkins Facebook page, which was created to encourage members to patronize Black-owned businesses in the wake of nationwide protests about the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and countless other Black people at the hands of police nationwide.
The new list can be found at www.businessleadersofcolors.com and will be updated on an ongoing basis each week. Owners who wish for their business to be added are encouraged to reach out to Gladys Brangman at gladys@businessleadersofcolors.com, and do not need to be members of the organization to be placed on the list.
According to a press release from the involved entities, the protests and resulting national conversation about racial disparities in America inspired the groups to collaborate to give people a way to directly support Black people locally.
“As local organizations focused on economic development and supporting local businesses, Business Leaders of Colors, the Tompkins Chamber, and the City of Ithaca Office of Economic Development are committed to helping address structural racism within our community and nation, and support the growth and success of black owned businesses, the release said. “In support of this effort,the groups have worked together to establish and promote a list of local Black-owned businesses in Ithaca and Tompkins County.”
Gladys Brangman, the founder of Business Leaders of Colors, spearheaded the effort, contacting businesses and asking if they would want to be included on the list. The Business Leaders of Colors is a network of business owners, entrepreneurs, consultants and social justice leaders from Tompkins County.
“We appreciate the opportunity to partner with the Tompkins Chamber and the City of Ithaca. We will be hosting the list on our website and will continue to support black owned businesses in our community and beyond,” she said.
Jennifer Tavares, the president of the Tompkins Chamber of Commerce, said she was happy the partnership could come about.
“The Tompkins Chamber is pleased to support this initiative, and I encourage local residents and business owners to consider making purchases from these great local businesses,” Tavares said. “The Chamber values diversity and inclusion, and intends to do our part to address systemic racism through policies, actions, and programming.”
The release noted that business ownership is an important path to independent wealth for people, including those from disadvantaged communities, but that they often face a lack of investment. Black entrepreneurs often face additional obstacles, including exclusion from small business loans and neglect form venture capital or commercial loans.
“Beyond this list, we are also committed to working together with our partners to expand the number of businesses owned by black women and men in Ithaca,” said Ithaca Mayor Svante Myrick. “We need new efforts that directly address barriers and provide pathways to black ownership including investment in entrepreneurship, direct technical assistance, and the creation of local character-based lending vehicles.”
