Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce

The Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce honored six local firms this month with Small Business of the Year awards in categories that included cultural excellence, community impact and CEO leadership.

Underscoring the challenges stemming from growing inequality, rising housing costs and strained transit infrastructure the city faces as its population grows, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu sought support Boston’s business leaders in her first speech before the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce.

On Friday, as part of a campaign to revisit the research, the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce brought together a group of panelists, including AJ Barkley, head of neighborhood and community lending for Bank of America; Chrystal Kornegay, executive director of MassHousing; and John Smith, executive director of the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative. During the hour-long panel, the group discussed how to bridge the racial wealth gap and advised residents of color how to take advantage of available resources.

Under Greater Boston Chamber of Commmerce president Jim Rooney, the influential business organization has another revolution in mind – this one a fundamental change in commercial opportunity for people of color in a nation undergoing a broad racial reckoning.