The team behind the Entrepreneurs of Color Fund (EOCF) recently took a look back at positive outcomes and experience working with CDFIs to expand access to capital for underserved businesses. "It is clearly possible to successfully implement inclusive lending policies,” writes LISC’s Steve Hall, who leads the EOCF work. "But it requires a different way of thinking about the process and a willingness to step back from traditional notions about risk."

City of Cleveland leadership spoke on the steps of City Hall Tuesday to discuss the recently passed Community Benefits Ordinance, which they say will have a "historic community impact."

“We want to continue to restructure our economic development department to be more responsive to the business community, to make sure we can be more aggressive to attract and retain new companies,” Mayor Justin Bibb said.

By: Trevor Mitchell 

Over the past 50 years, local government and business leaders in Cleveland have implemented several ordinances, policies, and programs seeking to promote diversity, inclusion, and equity (DEI) within the construction industry and urban redevelopment. These DEI efforts have had a significant impact on the urban planning process in the City of Cleveland and led to the creation of Cleveland’s Memorandum of Understanding Regarding Community Benefits and Inclusion (MOU) or what is commonly referred to as a model Community Benefits Agreement (CBA).

Recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the number of unionized workers in the United States increased by 200,000 from 2021 to 2022. And that growth came entirely from workers of color. There was an increase in 231,000 unionized workers of color last year, while white unionized workers actually decreased by 31,000. 

Douglas J. Guth, ideastream

Dominic Ozanne, president and CEO of Ozanne Construction Co., doesn’t mince words when relaying the origins of his Black-owned family business. When Ozanne’s father Leroy incorporated the company in 1956, he surmounted police-enforced segregation by harnessing a southern Louisiana upbringing where quitting was never an option.

Isis Simpson-Mersha, PR Daily

February is over and attention on Black History Month has disappeared. However, the need for ongoing efforts to promote DE&I initiatives remains critical. DE&I initiatives require sustained commitment and action beyond designated heritage months.

Joseph R. Biden, JR., The White House 

Chuck Soder, Crain's

Companies in the Crain's Minority-Owned Business Directory largely bounced back in 2022 after a so-so 2021.

Christine Y. Chen, McKinsey Global Publishing