Black businesses need support

Greater Dayton African American Chamber of Commerce wants the city’s black community to do more to support local black-owned businesses.

The chamber on Thursday kicked off its Think Before You Buy campaign. The chamber’s goal is to educate the community about the strength of their purchasing power and develop interest in the community about “directing dollars to small African-American businesses,” said Eleanor Stocks, chamber president.

The chamber also wants to help people who have businesses in West Dayton stay in business, Stocks said.

“Right now we would like for the black community to keep that economic dollar here in the black community,” Young said. “This is the only way that we see that we can start to revitalize the west side of Dayton. Right now, we have more and more businesses leaving this community. We don’t have a bunch of them coming in.”

Young said the black community must take action that will help create a “viable business climate within the community.”

“Since the 1980s, there has been a consistent decline in businesses owned and operated by black business owners in the west and northern sectors of Dayton,” said Young, a chamber committee member. “Within the West Dayton area, the majority of operated businesses are owned by nonblack business owners.”

The chamber is encouraging those who already own businesses to mentor or offer financial assistance to those seeking to own businesses.

“We need to start doing things together to move our businesses forward,” Young said.

The chamber plans to prepare an updated list of black-owned businesses to provide to the public. The chamber also plans on hosting regular town hall meetings and give status reports on the businesses that provide quality products. The first of the town hall meetings was to be held last night.

For more information about the chamber and its initiatives, call (937) 222-8406 or write the chamber at P.O. Box 289, Dayton, OH 45409.