“Indianapolis is the 11th largest city in the country. Why doesn’t it have anyone who’s advocating for Black business?”
It’s the question that spurred local business owners Larry Williams and Mary Cox to take action.
Williams, who owns Rowley Security Firm, and Cox, owner of One Stop Laundry, were both active members of the Anderson/Madison County Black Chamber of Commerce when they realized the absurdity of having to travel out of the Circle City to find those resources.
Conveniently, Rev. Manuel Hunt, founder and chairman of the board of the Anderson organization, had similar plans in mind for Indianapolis. Hunt said his 2015 goal was to help establish three new Black chambers statewide — in Indianapolis, Kokomo and Marion.
So under the mentorship of Hunt and his organization, Williams and Cox established the Indy Black Chamber of Commerce (IBCC) in January 2015.
If a chamber of commerce focusing on the Black community and Black-owned businesses in Indianapolis sounds familiar, it’s because it is.
The city previously had an active organization called the Indianapolis Black Chamber of Commerce, but without much explanation, it ceased to exist.
“I wasn’t involved in the Indianapolis Black Chamber. I don’t know the specifics on why it’s defunct,” Williams said. Cox didn’t offer up an explanation either, but Hunt had some insight to share.
“It kind of went dormant,” Hunt said. “What happened was (the president) was not getting the board support and the financing she needed. She was basically volunteering and doing it all herself.” Under those conditions, keeping up the chamber became too much, Hunt said.
Regardless of the events of the past, Williams and Cox both reiterated the new organization is just that — new.
“We’re not necessarily revamping the old (Indianapolis Black Chamber), because this is a new start, totally different,” Cox said. “There’s not the same leadership, so it’ll be hard to compare the two.”
Another indicator of a new start: the subtle difference in the organizations’ names. Williams said the new group is intentionally called “Indy” rather than “Indianapolis” in the title, to help differentiate the new from the old.
With the name established, Williams, Cox and Hunt began assessing the city’s needs.
“We don’t have a central location for any kind of information or anything to deal with (Black) business. We don’t have an advocate for (Black) business,” Williams said. “The No. 1 thing we want to accomplish is growing our community. Growing our businesses means growing our community.”
To that end, the IBCC has established a dozen committees to address various focus areas, including education, politics, community and economic development and more, many of which are modeled after the Anderson chamber.
“For our mission, we are going to pretty much serve as an information resource for the Black-owned businesses here in the city,” Cox said. “And then our focus is going to be on educating and enhancing the Black community, and then creating a positive climate for the exchange of our goods and services.”
Williams said the IBCC has so far partnered with two banks — to help smooth the process for IBCC members seeking small-business loans — and Ivy Tech, which offers some certifications beneficial to IBCC members.
The group is confident they’ve got the right tools to grow and develop Indy’s Black businesses, but there’s still work to be done.
“The biggest challenge is going to be engaging people,” Cox said. “A lot of people are going to say, ‘I’m just going to wait to see what happens.’”
The IBCC is also still working just to get the word out to the Black community.
“A lot of Black businesses start here, but then they die. Or they’re barely hanging on,” Williams said. “Our goal is to just let them know that we’re here to help.”
For more information on the IBCC, visit their website at Indybcc.org.
2016 IBCC Events
January: Getting Ready for Tax Time
February: Black History Celebration
March: Business Networking “Contacts for Contracts”
April: Political Updates — Elected Officials Expound
May: Business Confidence Course
June: Evening with the Mayor
