As part of Black History Month, Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson invited five leaders and members of Anchorage’s African American community to discuss entrepreneurship, mentorship, and how to improve quality of life in the city.
Besides Bronson, in attendance were Renee Wardlaw, an attorney with Bristol Bay Native Corporation; J. Harris, director of Next Generation at Lighthouse Christian Fellowship; Missy Simms, owner of Sweet Creations Lollipop Boutique; Shawn Idom, who is the owner, barber and instructor of Hair Science Barbershop and Barber School; and Lechaun Baker, president of Legacy Builders Painters Academy.
A running theme throughout the discussion was exposing the younger generation to people of color in various occupations, both professional and in the trades. “Let them know the opportunity is there,” Baker said, “A lot of children don’t know, ‘I have an option. I don’t have to go to college. I can get a trade. I can become a barber, I can become a painter, I can learn how to run and own my own candy shop.’ ... So the opportunity was to give the kids, we thought about, all our passion, we all talk about the same thing, the next generation.”
And for those young people who do want to attend college and get a degree outside the state, there’s some concern that they leave and don’t come back. “I’m part of a diversity commission that was set up by the Alaska Bar Association to bring BIPOC lawyers back to our state and one of the biggest impediments is that we just aren’t offering enough in terms of community,” Wardlaw said. “People want work, get their education, come back home, but if we don’t have jobs and if we don’t have a culture that’s going to support them, in addition to having just economic benefit, then I’m seeing a piece missing.
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