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Joshua Brister, owner of the Lewiston-Auburn Maples, a women’s semiprofessional basketball team in Maine, is creating the state’s first Black chamber of commerce.
Brister believes the state lacks an entity that advocates for and promotes the interests of Black businesses to state leaders. “You have to be talking with city councilors and economic development directors and the candidates running for the State House and the Blaine House in Augusta,” he said.
The paper noted that the registered nonprofit plans to work hand in hand with other organizations vested in the interests of Black businesses, such as Black Owned Maine. Brister said, “We need intentional allies who have funding and are willing to stand by us when times get tough.”
There is room for everyone to lead, and the creator of the Black chamber of commerce said it was “not looking to be confrontational. We don’t want to be bigger or better. We want to be a good chamber with an intentional plan. There’s got to be an engine to engage with if we want to bring positive change.”
Source: Black Enterprise
