PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — More than a dozen mayors from around the country are meeting in Philadelphia Thursday for the African American Chamber of Commerce’s fourth annual National Convening of Black Mayors.
AACC President Regina Hairston said the event began four years ago because Black-owned businesses in the Philadelphia region were lagging compared to other U.S. cities.
“We brought mayors from across the country to talk about initiatives in their cities that are growing and scaling Black businesses,” she said.
The mayors will be discussing several topics, including advocacy, innovation and support systems, at the Wells Fargo Center, where a business expo will showcase Black-owned businesses.
Mayor Derrick Wood, of Dumfries, Virginia, admires the way Atlanta used its airport to become the city with the highest percentage of Black-owned businesses.
“Forty percent of the contracts in that airport go to Black [businesses],” he said. “We as mayors have to figure out: What is our Atlanta airport, and how do we create that same type of …