As Celtics superstar Jaylen Brown launches a nonprofit with a mission to close the racial wealth gap in and around Boston, existing incubators and funders focused on a similar cause are relishing the high-profile spotlight he’s bringing to the field.
Brown’s new nonprofit, called Boston Xchange (BXC), plans to support entrepreneurs of color in the creative economy, from design to music, fashion to culinary arts.
“You have a very important athlete who is committed to his local community. They’re asking the right questions of the right people, making sure there’s no duplication and that the efforts are working with existing programs here,” says Glynn Lloyd, who runs Mill Cities Community Investments, a black-led community development finance institution in Lawrence.
Nearly a decade ago, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston reported that the median net worth of nonimmigrant Black households in Greater Boston was just $8. Advocates have long argued that one way to improve that dismal figure is through entrepreneurship.
This has been challenging in Massachusetts. Black and Latino people make up more than a fifth of the state’s population, but they owned just over 3% of businesses with employees in 2018. That was less than half the rate of Black and Latino business ownership nationwide, according to a U.S. Census survey of entrepreneurs.
Lloyd said recent events have raised awareness of the challenges facing entrepreneurs of color, from the Black Lives Matter movement after the killing of George Floyd to the COVID pandemic, which has disproportionately impacted communities of color and minority business owners.
He said this awareness has encouraged the government to provide more grants and support to these business owners.
“We’ve strengthened our relationships with folks in the space, whether it’s on the capital side, the technical assistance side or the advocacy side, and there’s more trust and cross-pollination,” Lloyd said. “Overall, I think that ecosystem is pretty strong.”
Orlando Watkins, vice president of the Boston Foundation, noted the growth of a variety of organizations dedicated to addressing the vast racial wealth gaps, from the Massachusetts Black Economic Council to Amplify Latinx to the Asian Business Empowerment Council.
“The work that has been done over the last six years has created a very robust infrastructure that will serve BIPOC businesses,” Watkins said.
But there are headwinds. Watkins and Lloyd pointed to recent backlash against diversity, equity and inclusion, and U.S. Supreme Court decisions that have undermined race-targeted efforts.
In that context, Brown’s effort to create a new incubator for creative people of color in Boston is even more meaningful, Watkins said.
“For someone like Jaylen to say, in the midst of a potentially chilling impact, that this is something we need to keep our eye on as a community is really powerful,” Watkins added.
Makeeba McCreary, who directs the new Commonwealth Fund for Racial Equity and Social Justice in Massachusetts, said minority-led businesses and nonprofits still have a hard time accessing funding and credit.
“Small businesses and grassroots organizations, both of which are really struggling and if they’re led by people of color, they have a hard time finding liquid resources that allow them to operate unimpeded,” he said. “That’s who we are.”
McCreary is optimistic that Brown’s nonprofit can make a significant difference in Boston by helping creative people of color become “part of the fabric” of the city.
“If they can fully commit to this, we will be the world-class city that we are talking about,” he said. “I fear we will not get there without them.”