Minority-Led

Entrepreneurship is the path to freedom; how Black business pioneers’ legacies still stand today

By Tommy Felts / February 4, 2025

Editor’s note: The perspectives expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. Brandon Calloway is CEO and Co-Founder of Generating Income For Tomorrow (G.I.F.T.), and now writes a weekly blog, The Equity Advocate. [divide] In the past eighteen months of traveling from city to city, I’ve made it a point to delve into the histories…

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KC welcomed Baba’s Pantry with open arms; now a family bakery shows off Palestinian treats

By Tommy Felts / February 3, 2025

Editor’s note: The following story was published by KCUR, Kansas City’s NPR member station, and a fellow member of the KC Media Collective. Click here to read the original story or here to sign up for KCUR’s email newsletter. [divide] After their cafe was named one of 2022’s best new restaurants by Bon Appetit magazine, the Kamal family is expanding…

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Closing KCK’s Black-owned coffee shop opens opportunity for Kinship to brew bigger, owner says

By Tommy Felts / February 1, 2025

When TJ Roberts posted on social media about closing Kinship Cafe, a Black-owned coffee shop in Kansas City’s Strawberry Hill neighborhood, he was surprised by the outpouring of support — a morale boost that not only gives him the spirit to keep fighting for the business, but expand it, he said. “When we posted about…

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Meet six coalitions earning grants through Kauffman Foundation’s new ‘Collective Impact’ funding pathway

By Tommy Felts / January 31, 2025

Systemic change happens when communities come together to drive transformation through collaboration, said Dr. DeAngela Burns-Wallace, announcing a half-dozen grants to high-capacity organizations with strategies to close economic mobility gaps in the Kansas City region. The “Collective Impact” planning grants of up to $500,000 are awarded to the winning coalitions are the first piece of…

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Superstars’ palette of impact dips into diverse industries: Here’s how a KC muralist creates his own economic progress

By Tommy Felts / January 28, 2025

Each individual brush stroke plays a role in painting the broader picture of economic development in Kansas City, said Daniel Montoute, reflecting on how a single entrepreneur can impact the region within the collective blend of communities. “As a small business rooted in the heart of Kansas City, we are proud to contribute to the…

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