Published by: The Miami Herald
Published: March 8, 2009
Written by: Bill Diggs

“The time is now to shake off our fear and move forward.”

Those are the words of President Barack Obama. I cannot tell you how encouraged I am in the midst of all that is going bad. I speak often to my business people and we start at the “How is business?”question, and we end up with the last line, which is “pray for me brother, I am barely hanging on.”

In so many ways I wish that I could have taken all of them to Washington, D.C., with me this past week to bear witness to what I saw. The amount of optimism in our nation’s capitol is overwhelming. The amount of people of color who are being empowered is astounding. The amount of intellectual horsepower that is being harnessed is humbling. Socialist E. Franklin Frazier once said “America faces a new race that has awakened.” When my mind went back to this quote I smiled and said yes it does!

In Washington, there are small businesses that have been emboldened by this new change in the presidency. I agreed to meet a friend for lunch at a place a block away from Ben’s Chili Bowl. Ben’s is an old African-American restaurant landmark that has been a D.C. staple for many years. While driving past there I saw business suit-clad men and women of all races outside ordering this famous chili. This was not the case in years past. It was just a hangout for black folks on D.C.’s northwest side. Now it has national implications because it is one of President (I have to get used to calling him that) Obama’s favorite eating spots.

This is clearly a time of optimism for black folks in this country. There are two phenomena that have recently taken place. In order for a black man to be elected president there had to be a perfect storm: the economy had faltered, America was in an unpopular war and the approval rating of the president and his party were at an all-time low.

This creation of a perfect storm allowed for our country to look past race and to vote in record numbers for the right candidate.

The second great thing that has happened is taking place much closer to home and that is the partnership of the nation’s (and our county’s) largest advocacy organization for people of color with our chamber. The NAACP and the Miami-Dade Chamber of Commerce have officially announced a joint partnership.

This partnership will mean that we will be developing joint strategies that will benefit the black business community and the residents of the communities in which these businesses operate. The validity and relevance of the partnership has already begun to pay massive dividends to our constituents. Our first very forward-thinking venture is the creation of a community compact between the Florida Marlins, the NAACP and the Miami-Dade Chamber of Commerce.

This compact — if a new stadium is approved — will guarantee black-owned businesses a 15 percent participation level in all construction of the new ballpark. This agreement will also guarantee 15 percent participation in the ongoing operations of the stadium. While this is a private deal between the Marlins and our two organizations it will provide over $36 million per year in direct contracts to black-owned businesses. As E. Franklin Frazier would say if he were here today, “I am awake now!”

Bill Diggs is president/CEO of the Miami-Dade Chamber of Commerce. Send feedback or questions to bdiggs@m-dcc.org



Back to top