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Gov. Bentley expected to address Confederate flag removal in speech before black business group on U.S. 280

by

Roy L. Williams

A few months ago, when a black business leader asked Gov. Robert Bentley to give the keynote address at a Friday, June 26 awards breakfast on U.S. 280, he had no idea a few the governor would this week take the bold step of removing the Confederate flag from the State Capitol Building.

Jerry Mitchell, president of the Alabama State Black Chamber of Commerce, acknowledged in a June 25 interview during the kick off of the 2nd annual Entrepreneurs and Innovators Conference that he is looking forward to hearing what the governor has to say during his speech at the Cahaba Grand Conference Center on Friday, June 26.

Mitchell asked Bentley to speak about small business issues after the governor named him and Birmingham black chamber president Curtis Richardson to serve on a state small business commission and small business advisory panel, respectively.

“It’s great timing,” Mitchell said. “We want to recognize him for the things he is doing for small businesses. The icing on the cake is he stood up and said we need to take the Confederate flag down because Alabama is moving forward.”

Mitchell said it was brave for a Republican governor in Alabama to make the decision to take down the Confederate flag, a choice that has been criticized by many across the state. But in the wake of the fatal shooting of nine inside a black church in Charleston, South Carolina by a 21-year-old white man in what authorities are calling a hate crime, Mitchell said it was the right decision.

“Certainly there is a place for the Confederate flag, maybe in a museum, not on the steps of the capital because it doesn’t represent all of the citizens of Alabama,” Mitchell said.

The Entrepreneurs & Innovators Conference has speakers sharing topics designed to help small businesses succeed. Business owners from the Greater Birmingham Black Chamber of Commerce, Tuscaloosa Black Chamber and North Alabama Black Chamber based in Huntsville were in attendance, along with other supporters from across the state.  

“Part of our goal is to encourage small businesses and black businesses to support each other,” Mitchell said. “We’re seeing a lot of energy and people are excited to be picking up good information and making contacts to help their businesses grow.”

The kickoff luncheon featured Birmingham lawyer Eric Guster, a frequent legal commentator on CNN and Fox News Network. In his address, Guster said small businesses need to adapt a “no quit” attitude if they want to achieve success.

Guster said prior to getting frequent appearances as a legal commentator over the past year on national news networks, he got dozens of denials in his requests for interviews.

But he was determined, something many small businesses fail to do.

“When you have negative people telling you you can’t make it, don’t quit,” Guster said. “Stop being afraid of rejection. It just means you’re one step closer to a yes.”

Mitchell said the conference theme, “Driving the Force of Change,” is directly related to the fact that Alabama has had one of the nation’s largest increases in small business growth, according to the most recent U.S. Census.

Sponsors for the conference include Alabama A&M University, Sarai Services Group, Alabama International Trade Center/Small Business Consortium, The Birmingham Business Journal, and The UAB Collat School of Business.  

For more information on the Alabama State Black Chamber of Commerce, visit ALBlackCC.org or call 256-564-7574.

Here is the schedule that will take place on the final day of the conference on Friday, June 26:

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