What Legacy Day Means - Blair Durham of Black BRAND

Blair Durham of Black BRAND discusses Legacy Day and the organization's mission to narrow the racial wealth gap. The organization is using a 150-year plan driven by data and partnerships with institutions like Virginia Tech to address key pillars that influence wealth. These pillars include health, education, media, technology, policy, justice, and affordable housing. Durham emphasizes the importance of community-driven efforts, historical awareness, and the need to actively shape a positive future for the Black community through intentional action and legacy building. Black BRAND's work centers around Business Research, Analytics, Networking, and Development to promote Black economic empowerment.

Here are ten important points and quotes from Blair Durham's talk:

Black Brand's name is an acronym that stands for business research and analytics networking and development.

Black Brand has been developing a 150-year plan in partnership with Virginia Tech to build a data dashboard1. This plan aims to narrow the racial wealth gap by connecting all the pillars that inform wealth1.•A significant part of the 150-year plan focuses on people and values, including social determinants of health and food access.

Less than 1% of venture capital goes to the Black community, which is related to the lack of new technologies coming from the Black community due to limited access to STEM resources1.•Policy and justice are important pillars, with issues like traffic stops and the impact of DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) programs being considered1. Durham asks whether the last 65 years of DEI programs actually translated to more wealth in the Black community, and notes that most data says no1.•According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, housing is considered affordable if it costs less than 30% of gross income.

Durham notes that the affordable housing crisis disproportionately affects the Black community.

"If it's not a grassroots effort, it's likely not going to happen"1. Durham emphasizes the importance of community involvement to achieve progress.

The Sankofa logo is central to Black Brand's identity, symbolizing the importance of looking back to the past to inform the future1. "It is not taboo to go back and fetch what you've forgotten," Durham says, noting that this includes ancient, recent, and personal history.

Durham journals to remember the past, and encourages everyone to speak legacy into young people, because it is their responsibility to teach them who they are....

Durham states that "the most important priority for the black community is the black community, not a particular political party".

Interested in sponsoring the podcast? Want to contact Blair orBrian or Black BRAND? [e-mail] . The BWST podcast is produced by using selected audio from theradio show and other Black BRAND events. BWST is the media outlet for BlackBRAND. Black BRAND is a 501(c)(3) organization that stands for BusinessResearch Analytics Networking and Development. We are Hampton Roads RegionalBlack Chamber of Commerce. We promote group economics through professionaldevelopment and community empowerment, and we unify the black dollar byproviding financial literacy, entrepreneurship training, and networkingresources!   http://blackbrand.biz  m.me/blackwallstreettoday  +  info@blackbr