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President/CEO, International Detroit Black Expo
As president and CEO of the International Detroit Black Expo, Kenneth Harris has been cultivating prosperity among African American businesses and organizations through cultural, entrepreneurial, social, educational and business opportunities that will further enhance the quality of life for the city of Detroit and surrounding communities. His goal is to uplift black businesses by presenting them with the tools and resources to build economically.
"We've been [fighting for] civil rights for so long that we haven't been able to move economically and put ourselves on an even playing field. This is a statement for African American businesses to come together so that we can have economic empowerment and let it be our No. 1 agenda," says Harris, explaining that we must shift the focus. "Once you have economic rights, civil rights are easy, so [economic rights needs to be] the first goal." With the IDBE being an opportunity for many corporate partners to reach a targeted market through exposure, branding and marketing, the tax-exempt, nonprofit organization prides itself on being mission-based and market-driven.
"We've always said a three-problem solution has always been to make sure that we mobilize ourselves. When we mobilize ourselves, then [we] can start the education process. Once [we] have the education intact, then we can empower each other. At the end of the day, once [we] take care of those three things [mobilization, education and empowerment], then we're on our way! The revolution has begun," says Harris. -jason thompson
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