We heard a lot about how the pictures of Baltimore that were broadcast around the world last April 27th harmed the image of the city, and created the perception that Baltimore was, among other things, a bad place to do business. This morning, a contrary view from two people who chose Baltimore as the place to start one of their new businesses, and to expand opportunities for young African-American and other minority innovators.
Entrepreneurs B. Cole and Aisha Pew moved to Baltimore last year from Oakland, California, established a business and invested in real estate; now they’re working to connect entrepreneurs from African-American and other communities of color throughout the country. Their Dovecote Café -- located just blocks from the Penn and North intersection where rioting broke out after Freddie Gray's funeral last year -- could be part of a brighter future for post-Uprising Baltimore. B. Cole and Aisha Pew join Tom in the studio to talk about how Brioxy could empower young people of color -- here in Baltimore and across the country -- to be a part of building that bright future.
Also joining this extended studio conversation is Dr. Kaye Wise Whitehead. She is an associate professor at Loyola University Maryland in the Communication Department. Her teaching and research focus on the intersections of race, class, and gender. She is also the author of a new collection of poems called Race Brave.
For more information about B. Cole's and Aisha Pew's social innovation network, Brioxy, you can follow the link to their website, and you can attend a special event this Friday, April 29th at ExittheApple Gallery (2234 Guilford Avenue, Baltimore), from Noon to 3pm. Details at this EventBrite site.
