The Black Wall Street Chamber of Commerce unveiled its new multi-year strategic plan Friday to advance and accelerate Black entrepreneurship.
Chairman Darnell Blackmon and Tulsa City Councilor Vanessa Hall-Harper outlined the chamber’s strategic vision to an audience of nearly 30 people at the Spirit Bank building.
The chamber spent six months preparing for its relaunch. Blackmon told The Eagle they currently have “around 50 members.”
“It used to be many more. And so I think with the previous structure out there, people fell off,” Blackmon said. “But I think they fell off because they don’t know what’s going on and we’re not engaging the community.”
He says now the goal is clear: serve as the primary architect of economic recovery for the Historic Greenwood District and north Tulsa.
Businesses can become a member of the chamber by paying either a $99, $299 or $999 annual fee. Each tier comes with varying degrees of benefits and assistance from the chamber.
By 2027 the chamber plans to be “the most system-driven, transparent and effective advocate for Black wealth in Tulsa’s history.”
“We want to partner with any and everyone that will fulfill and is behind our vision and our mission,” Hall-Harper said. “We have members of all races, creeds, colors, but when it comes to our programming and what we do in this institution we are focused on Black entrepreneurship, life, Black health, Black community and our historical preservation.”
Laying out the strategic plan
Following more than 40 stakeholder interviews and focus groups, phase one of the chamber’s strategic plan hopes to address the wealth gap and health inequalities while creating new business relationships for members.
A presentation by the chamber showed Black Tulsans earn a median income of $42,000 compared to white Tulsans who earn $74,088. It also said there’s an 11-year difference in life expectancy between north and south Tulsa.
Another crucial aspect of the plan acknowledged the chamber needs to “win back trust” from the “big four” philanthropic foundations in the city: the George Kaiser, Coretz, Zarrow and Schusterman family foundations.
Economic development and capital velocity
- The chamber wants to establish a community development financial institution by setting up a formal matchmaking platform to provide assessment, bank matching and pre-qualification support.
Black contractors association
- A key step is to build on the success of north Tulsa projects like Black Wall Street Square and Oasis Fresh Market and secure more contractors to help develop the area. Part of the plan is to track total contract amounts awarded and net new jobs created for Black residents.
Preservation and historical stewardship
- The chamber says it will partner with the Vernon Witness to ensure tourism. The project is an effort by Vernon AME to create a museum with artifacts from the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.
- The group will also provide direct “business concierge” services for the Greenwood Entrepreneurship at Moton and the Terence Crutcher Foundation’s North Pointe Center.
Community health and well-being
- To address health disparities, the chamber is planning on establishing the A.C Jackson Directory, a database for more than 130 Black physicians and dentists. Jackson, a prominent Black surgeon in Greenwood, was killed during the Tulsa Race Massacre.
- “We’re trying to embrace the Green Country physicians of color through the chamber. We want to centralize their data so that anytime you need to access it, you can,” Blackmon said. “If you want to find a Black OB-GYN they’ll be on the website. Primary care physician, too.”
First 180 days
- In the next few months, the chamber plans to launch the first Banker-Contractor workshop and submit five major grant applications.
Ismael Lele is a Report for America corps member and writes about business in Tulsa for The Oklahoma Eagle. Your donation to match our Report for America grant helps keep him writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting this link.
