 It is good to be with this community again. We had the opportunity to host this event in person when it was still, you were still able to do that last year. And so, although the setting has shifted, I'm glad to be back with this community. I'm going to spend a couple of moments talking about what we do with the gathering spot, but also the way that that work connects to some of the challenges that we're experiencing as a community, both here in Atlanta, but also nationwide. It's important for me to highlight that most of my discussion today will focus on the economic impacts of COVID-19, but also the way that systemic injustice has aided in really accelerating the rate of crisis for many black-owned businesses and minority-owned businesses in Atlanta, but also, again, what we're seeing across the country. But I'll begin by talking about CGS. So the gathering spot was started in the wake of another very tragic time in our country's history after the murder of Trayvon Martin. I was working at a law firm in Atlanta and I got an email from some of my friends that said, what are we going to do next after George Zimmerman was acquitted? And I wrote back to them that I wanted to create a place where people would have the opportunity to meet with one another. And so that short email ended up becoming what the gathering spot is. We're in the community business more than anything else. My job is to connect the community that youngest member is 21, the oldest member is 88. Every industry that you can imagine is represented and our programming is perhaps the things that folks know best in terms of the day-to-day activity of the club. Pre-COVID, we had an event space, a restaurant and bar and collaborative workspace. We've had to shift plans like many of you given the threat of the virus, but the community stayed together the entire time, which I'm really proud of. Going into COVID-19, the thing that we saw that was the biggest threat instantly was that many businesses simply didn't have the liquidity to weather the storm. And so we established a fund pretty quickly with the goal of making sure where there were needs for immediate capital that we would be there. What we learned in the process though is that the systemic injustices that are in this country really sitting at the intersection of race and economic justice are super important. I learned something that I think I read once or I saw it again, but that black folks in this country right now have the same percentage of wealth that they did in 1860. It's about less than, it's less than one half of 1% of the nation's wealth. If you're like me, that statistic is scary, right? But what it points to is that if we don't get aggressive about trying to talk about the economic circumstances that are really leading to many of the, they're exasperating many of the racial injustice cases that we're seeing across this country, I fear that our future is not very bright. Here in Atlanta, we're seeing statistics that 70% of businesses may not make it to the end of the year. We are a community that has thrived for a long time around having black and minority owned businesses do very well in the city. But again, most of the conversation is not centered around making sure that those businesses will make it. There's a lot of conversation about the government programs and even private grants that are out there. While I applaud some of those efforts, they're simply not enough. We've got to do more, right? And my solution to this is that if you have the opportunity to be a customer or a client, it is now more important than ever to be super intentional about our actions and the businesses that we engage with. If we don't, again, the statistics are very clear. Many of these businesses will not make it. What happens next to that is that we will ruin any progress that's been made in these communities over the last several generations. Now, a lot of conversation has been centered around diversity and inclusion work at large corporations. I'm proud of those efforts and applaud them. But I think it's important for us to note that we won't be able to out-hire our way out of this process. If we are going to return black folks and black-owned business to prominence, it is going to be about us being intentional about doing business, not because it's charitable, but because these businesses make great partners to work with. I think that that's important because the discourse right now is being centered in a way that centers black people and minorities broadly in this frame that doing business with them is a charitable act. It isn't. It's a good business decision to make. And we've got to highlight stories and continue to do the things that we're seeing on social media to point folks in the right direction. But at scale, ask the question why in our cities we don't see more black and minority-owned businesses that are able to grow to the same size, right? Despite being in the same city and having access to the same customer base, why those businesses are not scaling to the same size of some of their counterparts? The second thing that I want to talk about is just making sure that our efforts are about long-term solutions. I've been asked this question, what should I do more times over the last week than I ever thought was possible? To me, the thing that we need to do, in addition to bail efforts and other efforts that connect to immediate legal strategies, is to really focus on making sure that our efforts are thinking about efforts that will go on way beyond us. Again, it goes back to making sure that our communities have the economic strength to be able to go on. If economic strength is there, we'll have the ability to build political power because as we know, political power is gained when folks have access to resources. Political power allows us to then have influence in media and healthcare and education. So to me, the bedrock, right of understanding the intersection of race and econ is super important. I'm running out of time, but there's two things that I want to share with you briefly that more go towards the strategy part of our movement. The first thing that I've been concerned about is I've seen a lot of folks say that they don't want to be like their ancestors. I've said on many occasions that if I had the opportunity to be half of the people that my ancestors were, that that would be something that I, it would be a tremendous honor. We have to acknowledge the past and understand that we are part of a continuum of people that have done great work before us. We have to honor those efforts. The second thing that I see is a lot of language about folks being tired. And I completely understand why we introduced that framework. In many ways, it is tiring being a person of color in this country. But my concern is, is that if we don't focus on again, demonstrating that the efforts that we have going on now will continue well into the future, whether folks like it or not. In many ways, we simply don't have the ability to be tired. And it's concerning that if part of our claim is that folks don't understand or realize our basic humanity, I'm concerned that they also won't see us being tired or exhausted as an appropriate frame. So we've got to continue to be resilient, especially as black and brown folks. We are and will continue to be, but it's important for us to articulate that because words matter. And so I'm out of time. I'm looking forward to the question and answer portion, but I wanted to share those three things. Economic strength, making sure that we honor our past and making sure that again, we use language that signals that this fight will go on for as long as we needed to. I so appreciate your time and your energy and for giving thought to this piece. I have just one question. I'm mindful of your time and the time on the agenda. I hear you when you say that this is a marathon and not a sprint. And I hear you when you say folks are tired. Some of us have been in this game longer than others. And so you can hear that and I hear that sensitivity. But I wonder if you could talk about a couple of things. One, are there any, for those who ascribe to being tired, are there any quick wins as we think about this marathon that we should be paying attention to? And two, totally agree with you that if you don't understand the intersection of race and economics, you've missed the boat. But how do you think about, how do you think about how we can create the kind of economy that is not built upon exploitation? First, I mean, I think it's important to say that in the conversation about being tired, that mental health matters, right? It's important for us to take care of ourselves and rest. Part of what I'm offering is a framework towards what we say externally, right? And I think that language matters. To your other question, it's about being radical in our support of one another, right? And asking critical questions. Again, why is it that we don't see black-owned businesses scale to the way that we all know that they're capable of doing? That to me is about relationships and that's about proximity. We've got to make sure that folks know one another. And then again, not because it's charitable, but because it's the right thing to do to partner with businesses that will be able to do the same thing as any other partner, help that business accomplish its goals. Thank you. So just one more question. I've been given the floor to ask one more question. I wonder if you could talk about what you're doing as an entrepreneur to kind of address these pieces and what can others do to join you in your efforts? I mean, we've established several funds, but the thing that I would encourage everyone to do is just be a customer or be a client. Find a black or minority-owned business and be intentional about your doing work with them. We're not going to be able to tweet our way or Instagram our way out of these issues. We've got to be specific about going out, finding the businesses that are in our communities, wrapping our arms around them and saying, and this is my belief, I will not on my watch to the greatest extent that I can control it, allow any black or minority-owned business in this city to close. That is the line that we've drawn in the sand. If we all draw that line, we have the resources in our communities to be able to make sure that everyone gets to the other side of this and thrives moving forward. So let's continue to make sure that front and center, with this entire conversation, is us being as intentional as we can. And thank you so much. I greatly appreciate your time and your space for joining us today. And I agree with you. What's been so inspiring over the last several weeks is people asking the questions about black businesses and ways that I haven't heard in my lifetime. And so hopefully that sparks innovation, the support outside of a charity lens of these black businesses so that we continue to grow and thrive. Thank you for the work that you do at The Gathering Spot and thank you for joining us today. And I wanna turn our attention to our first panel discussion. Let's welcome to the...