With launch, Black Chamber of Commerce Summit County pushes back against anti-diversity policies
New organization raised $100,000 before Thursday’s inaugural event.
By: Arielle Kass
February 21, 2025
The Black Chamber of Commerce Summit County launched Thursday night, filling the HomeTown Hall at Akron’s House Three Thirty with more than 300 supporters committed to helping give Black businesspeople a leg up, even as President Donald Trump works to dismantle and pull funding from programs that boost minority groups nationwide. (Arielle Kass / Signal Akron)
The Black Chamber of Commerce Summit County launched Thursday night, filling the HomeTown Hall at Akron’s House Three Thirty with more than 300 supporters committed to helping give Black business people a leg up, even as President Donald Trump works to dismantle and pull funding from programs that boost minority groups nationwide.
The chamber, announced in the fall, was created to ease the racial wealth gap and create more opportunities for Black entrepreneurs as well as expand economic opportunities in Akron, President and CEO Robert DeJournett said at the time. Since then, he said, the need for diversity, equity and inclusion work that uplifts the entire community has only grown.
“Everyone knows that DEI’s under attack, it seems like African Americans are under attack,” DeJournett said in an interview Thursday. “It’s even more important that we do it now, because most people are backing down. … Let’s meet this thing head on. Let’s not back down. Let’s continue to go forward and figure it out together.”
Rep. Emilia Sykes, D-Akron, speaks with Akron Mayor Shammas Malik and his wife Alice (right) at the Black Chamber of Commerce Summit County launch Thursday at House Three Thirty. At left is Emily Scott, Sykes’ press secretary. Sykes told the sold-out crowd that they shouldn’t “be discouraged about what you see coming out of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., because at House Three Thirty, we’re tearing it down.” (Arielle Kass / Signal Akron)
His comments came after Rep. Emilia Sykes, D-Akron, told the sold-out crowd that they shouldn’t “be discouraged about what you see coming out of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., because at House Three Thirty, we’re tearing it down.”
“There are a lot of people who don’t believe that diversity, equity and inclusion are important words, but diversity, equity and inclusion is what makes America great,” Sykes said to applause.
“It is what people like you do every single day to uplift every segment of this community so that no one is left out and no one is left behind. … You are going to touch people’s lives who may not ever know your names, but when they buy their first home or start their first business or climb up that ladder, it is going to be because of the work and the seeds that you have sowed today.”
Sykes said protecting diversity, equity and inclusion programs was a priority for her in Congress as the United States strives to be a more perfect union. It remained a priority locally, she said, following a 2018 Elevate Akron report that showed Black people in the community had been excluded from economic opportunities.
In an interview, Sykes said it makes good business sense to be inclusive. Doing so expands potential market share for companies, she said, and allows everyone an opportunity to live the American dream.
Rep. Emilia Sykes, D-Akron, told the sold-out crowd at the launch of the Black Chamber of Commerce Summit County that they shouldn’t “be discouraged about what you see coming out of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., because at House Three Thirty, we’re tearing it down.” (Arielle Kass / Signal Akron)
“I’m so proud that even in the face of adversity, these individuals said, ‘We’re going to move forward with this, because we want to make sure that no one is left behind in this community,’” she said. “Everyone has an equal opportunity for success, and that’s what we’re providing.”
The chamber raised $1,000 each from 100 founding members before the Thursday event, DeJournett said; that evening, he hoped to raise $50,000 more.
Cristina Torrence, owner of Butterfly Consulting Solutions and the CFO of United Way of Greater Stark County, said she joined as a founding member to help people get the support they need to expand their businesses. She called the timing of the organization’s launch “divine,” given national challenges that might keep business people from having opportunities going forward.
“We just had our whole world shaken, DEI initiatives ripped,” she said. “The timing is impeccable, and it’s so encouraging.”
Black Chamber ‘a beacon for hope’
With the launch of the new chamber, people will have access to opportunities they never had before, said Akron Fire District Chief Sierjie Lash. She said coming together to make change is a first step in providing broader opportunities.
And Judi Hill, president of the Akron chapter of the NAACP and chair of the Black Chamber, called the organization’s start “a Shark Tank moment” for the area, giving people the opportunity to scale their ideas to help build wealth.
Jason Edwards, the creative director at Shooin Creative, pledged $1,000 Thursday to join the chamber. He said he wanted to be part of an organization that helps businesses “sustain and grow and thrive” at a time when nationally there seem to be more barriers being put up.
“It’s kind of like a slap in the face,” he said. “I think that makes this event even more meaningful, because it’s like we have to come together to create our own space and do our own thing and use that to help benefit others.”
The launch of the new chamber means “no more being left out,” said Summer Hall, a member of the Akron Board of Education and the cultural engagement coordinator for the city. Hall said the organization will allow more people to have hope about their futures and help those who historically have not had a seat at the table to pull up a chair. It’s about making sure everyone has a chance, she said.
The end result, co-founder Misty Beasley told the crowd, is an organization “that will serve as a beacon for hope, a catalyst for growth and a champion for the interest of Black-owned businesses and entrepreneurs in Summit County.”
There have been barriers to success, she said, but the Black Chamber will work to tear them down and provide more support by developing, supporting and advocating for policies that promote equity.
“The Black Chamber of Commerce Summit County is more than just an organization,” she said. “It’s a movement. It’s a call to action for all of those who believe in the power of economic empowerment, who recognize the importance of representation and who are committed to creating a more just and equitable society.”
Editor’s note: Signal Akron is a founding member of the Black Chamber of Commerce Summit County. Rita McNeil Danish, the CEO of Signal Ohio, is a chamber board member.