The Innovations and Wellness Commons, located at 1615 W. North Ave. (Photo by Edgar Mendez)
BY ANDREA WAXMAN - MILWAUKEE NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS SERVICE

Ossie Kendrix, the new president and CEO of the African American Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin, sees himself as an agent of change. One change he’s planning is to move the chamber, which will celebrate its 25th anniversary in April, from downtown to the Innovations and Wellness Commons in Lindsay Heights.

“I love the entrepreneurial synergy” there, where the Juice Kitchen, Tandem restaurant and the chamber’s partner organization, the Social Development Commission (SDC), are located, Kendrix said.
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The Commons is located on a major corridor close to downtown and is “in the community, where the chamber is most needed,” Kendrix said. Construction is expected to start on Phase Two of the Commons next year. The chamber’s current lease will expire in January 2019.

Read the full article on Milwaukee Neighborhood News
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An article in Black Enterprise revealed that the African American population is an economic force to be reckoned with, with a projected buying power of $1.1 trillion for 2015. The African American Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin (AACCW) understands the power of creating wealth and the buying power of the local black community.

In Wisconsin, and specifically in Milwaukee, there are benefits to exerting buying power and building wealth throughout the state. When we think about wealth building, it is recognizing that the economic power of the African American community begins with supporting existing black businesses and expanding entrepreneurship in our community.