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More than 60 years ago, Rochester embarked on a bold experiment to create companies owned, managed, and staffed largely by African Americans that would uplift the broader community, but the promise of “Black capitalism” fell short.
In June 2022, the Levine Center to End Hate hosted Black Prosperity: a two-part panel (moderated by our Steering Committee member Adrian Hale) examining Rochester’s history of discrimination and exploring the ways in which we can ensure equity for African American workers, business owners, and entrepreneurs.
“My advice is to seek out black owned businesses in our community. If we can’t find banks to give loans to these businesses we need our community to support us.”
— Melissa Geska
Black Prosperity Panel
PANEL ONE
Examining Rochester's History of Discrimination
Dennis Bassett
Bob Duffy
David Powe
Dr. Ruth Scott
BP Rochesters History of Discrimination
BP Ensure Equity
PANEL TWO
Exploring Ways to Ensure Equity
Melissa Geska
Christopher Santana (AKA Richie)
Timothy Taylor
Thank you to our Signature Sponsor
Thank you to our Partners
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