HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — The Hillsborough County Black Chamber of Commerce allowed the community to ask questions Tuesday during a meeting. One question that sparked concern was how they’re improving Black businesses in the Tampa Bay area.
It was part of Tuesday evening's event called "Let the People Speak!" Dozens of people filled the Entrepreneur Collaborative Center in Ybor City.
Hillsborough County business owners got the chance to ask the Black Chamber of Commerce whatever they wanted.
"What’s the plan to get Black-owned businesses into our communities?" Lavaughnda Frazier questioned.
It's a question that also comes as a concern to Frazier who grew up in Tampa. "The ones we recognize growing up, those are now disappearing," she added about Black-owned businesses in Tampa.
The chamber said by having these types of events, they’re connecting people to give them resources outside of city programs like the Community Redevelopment Areas (CRA) program.
"The local smaller businesses are being pushed out of the way," Frazier added.
The Tampa native believes part of that has to do with not involving the city's youth.
"Some of it was because it wasn’t passed down from generation to the next," she added.
She says we need to work with the younger generation to show them they can be successful.
"Make sure that from little bitty, 5, 6, 7-years-old, they see people that look like them who are successful," Frazier explained.
Her point was something the chamber agreed with and believes is possible when getting the community together. Business owners believe it takes everyone to create change.
"Just working together. That’s how we learn, that’s how we grow," a business owner, Rasha Kelly, added.
There will be more meetings like this one held in the near future.