Knoxville Area Urban League Helps Minority Businesses Succeed

KNOXVILLE – The Knoxville Area Urban League (Knoxville, TN) is focusing on helping minority entrepreneurs get their business off the ground.

According to the Urban League, in 2021, 41% of minority businesses closed down, due to the pandemic. Around 50% of minority businesses saw a revenue reduction.

It these numbers that have the Urban League determined to make sure that minority entrepreneurs succeed in their business ventures.

Terrence Carter, vice president of workforce and economic development for the Urban League, said, “What we are trying to do is position them for the best probability of success. And what that means is putting together a solid foundation that is required to, basically, start a business an din growing that business into a successful company.”

One of the beneficiaries of this focus is Britnie Davis.

“I was not there mentally, I was not ready to be my own boss,” she said.

Once she connected with the Urban League, however, her balloon decorating business was able to really move forward, winning $15,000 through contests.

But this is isn’t the only goal of the Urban League, Carter insists.

"It is important for the broader community to make sure that these communities of color that have these pockets of neighborhood commercial and business spaces are vibrant, successful because it benefits the whole community," he emphasized. "That will be an impact for, not just those individuals, but those families within those communities."

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