2016 Upstate Economic Empowerment Weekend starts on June 22nd

Greenville, South Carolina - Black Expo South and SC Blue Retail presents the 5th Annual Upstate Economic Empowerment Weekend in Greenville, South Carolina. This series of events will kick-off on June 22, 2016 with the $50 Billion Empowerment Tour held at the TD Convention Center. The subject of evening will be, “Closing the Wealth Gap”, by TED Talks speaker and author of Our Black Year, Maggie Anderson, and Manager of The African-American Market Unit of New York Life, Eugene Mitchell. New York Life created this initiative to bring together elected officials, religious leaders, business owners and the community-at-large to discuss actionable strategies for bridging the racial wealth gap in our local community. Attendees are invited to learn about New York Life’s African American Community Empowerment Plan, a five-year initiative to generate $50 billion* of generally tax-free, future income for the African American community. Greenville is the first South Carolina City to host the Tour event.

Friday, June 24, 2016 will feature several key events, beginning with the 5th Annual Business Opportunity Summit, held at the Kroc Center at 7:30am. This year’s summit will feature Greenville Health System President and Chief Executive Officer, Mike Riordan, whose keynote will discuss The Benefits of Diversity On Our Economy. Immediately following the Business Opportunity Summit, is the 5th Annual Talented Tenth Leadership Conference featuring an opening seminar by Ava Smith from Ava Smith and Associates, and panel discussions on topics including education, financial security, and political process.

The slate of events will conclude with the acclaimed Taste of Black Upstate. The acclaimed event, which features sample dishes and desserts from local caterers, chefs and restaurants, will be held at ZEN located at 924 South Main Street.

For more information on all of the events, visit www.blackexposouth.com. To learn more about the Talented Tenth Leadership Conference, visit www.talentedtenthsc.com.

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Press Contact:

DeVona Mitchell | 803-254-6404

mitchell@blackpagesusa.com