ReSURGEnce Conference Mission

reSURGEnce Conference will host a series of business forums and conferences that will bring together Black businesses, churches, and community not­for­profits and link them with resources and  institutions, governments, and corporations to facilitate funding,
procurement, sales and marketing, trade, training, and a wide range of services and business exchange.

reSURGEnce Conference is an ongoing campaign that will help to fuel a renewed flame for the development and growth of Black businesses. This campaign is a collaboration of The New York Christian Times and several key community­based organizations and government agencies such as New York City Small Business Services, South Bronx Economic Development Corporation, The Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce, Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, Greater Jamaica Development Corporation, Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement, and other chambers of commerce, development groups, and business associations. Purposeful in our commitment to help develop and strengthen Black­owned businesses,

Advocacy and Leadership

Over the past 30 years, The New York Christian Times has been a leading voice, an effective advocate and transformative leader on the path to economic growth and business development in Black and Brown communities. As architects of “House New York / Houses for You”, one of the nation’s largest faith­based homeownership movements at the time, The Black Church Means Business Conference, The Economic Revival Initiative, The New York Black Business Clinics, and the Financial Literacy Campaign, our organization has worked with thousands of churches and hundreds of banks and US corporations to bring change and opportunities to marginalized communities in the New York region and other parts of the country. Corporations such as Macy’s, McDonald’s, Polo, Ralph Lauren and Citibank have credited our organization for assisting in the growth of their supplier diversity programs and community reinvestment efforts.

Growth Stagnation

Unfortunately, over the past ten years, we have seen a stagnation in the growth of Black businesses in the New York tri­state area. SBA Guaranteed Loans to Black businesses are down from what was already the lowest level of all ethnic and niche categories, the average
Black­owned business has gross annual revenue of a mere $68,000 compared with approximately $12 million for New York State firms, and Blacks account for only 3.5% of New York City’s firms yet represent some 26% of the population. The COVID­19 pandemic has only widened this gap, and the global unrest that arose from the murder of George Floyd and other innocent Blacks is a painful revelation of the huge disparities that Blacks face in America.

ReSURGEnce Conference and The New York Times Footprint

The rESURGENCE Conference campaign will follow alongside The New York Christian Times’ footprint which covers the five boroughs of NYC, Nassau and Suffolk counties, Westchester and Rockland, and the five northern counties of New Jersey.

The rESURGENCE Cobference campaign will engage the strength of The New York Christian Times’ extensive network as one of this region’s leading publications. The campaign will also collaborate with other media outlets and business associations to ensure the broadest reach. This initiative will saturate the New York market with an extensive marketing and outreach plan to ensure full saturation in the African American community, the Caribbean population, a solid reach to the continental African population, and a direct inreach to more than 1.2 million church goers through a network of more than 3,000 churches. All key Black communities – from Harlem to Hollis, Jersey City to Mt. Vernon, and Newark, Brooklyn and Hempstead – sit within the coverage area.