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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowDiversity, inclusion and economic opportunity for Blacks was front and center at the Dec. 3 Engage Indiana corporate-citizenship event hosted by IBJ and the Indiana Economic Development Corp.
Anyone watching the virtual discussion via Zoom couldn’t help but be heartened by the sweeping efforts underway to address inequities in our region that perpetuate poverty and limit economic opportunity.
One example was the launch in October of the Business Equity for Indy initiative—an effort organized by Indy Chamber and the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership, which is made up of CEOs of the region’s most prominent companies.
But thanks to an all-star group of panelists—from Citizens Energy CEO Jeffrey Harrison to Patachou Inc. CEO Martha Hoover—the discussion also proved to be a powerful primer on how to actually fix some of our community’s most vexing problems.
Let’s start with Hoover, who, in 2013, founded the Patachou Foundation, which one recent week served 4,000 meals to children suffering from food insecurity.
That is indeed laudable, but, as Hoover said during the discussion, “That is a Band-Aid fix. That’s the problem with a lot of not-for-profit work. It is very much a Band-Aid fix.
“We are really interested in looking at and upending the root causes of hunger. Because, until you change the root causes, you are really in this endless and unsustainable cycle of feeding kids.”
Other panelists made similarly powerful points during the hour-long discussion.
Black entrepreneur Justin Christian’s firm, the IT outsourcing and staffing firm BCforward, launched in 1998 and today generates annual revenue approaching half a billion dollars.
But when he was getting started, he struggled until a minority-supplier organization steered him to what essentially was a Rolodex of purchasing managers. He told the story to illustrate the need for companies to be intentional about spending money with Black businesses.
“I remember BCforward when it was me running around town with $1,000 of investment capital, no contacts, couldn’t get a bank loan and really was looking for anybody who would give me a chance.
“I knew I was good at what I did and knew that, if given the opportunity, I would perform. But I needed a way to get my foot in the door.”
Mel Raines, Pacers Sports & Entertainment’s executive vice president of corporate communications, community engagement and facility operations, acknowledged her company had work to do when it stepped up its focus on supplier diversity this year.
She noted that the Pacers have unique needs, which suppliers are unlikely to know without team outreach and education. If a playoff series extends to seven games, for instance, the team might need to order 18,000 gold T-shirts for delivery in 24 hours.
“We need to do better about educating them on our business and what our needs are and understanding the hurdles they face in doing business with companies like ours,” she said.
Panelists also cited the need to focus in order to spur real change. OneAmerica CEO Scott Davison highlighted a Shepherd Community Center program aimed at snapping the cycle of poverty in a single ZIP code.
Meanwhile, Hoover highlighted the need for groups to work collaboratively. Quoting an African proverb, she said, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go with others.”•
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