Since the 1840’s, African-American entrepreneurs have made significant contributions to Northern Nevada.

Please join Marvell Phillips and Donald Griffin in another Our Story, Inc forum to hear some of the history, challenges, successes and failures of black entrepreneurship in Northern Nevada on Saturday, October 8, 2022, from 1-3 at the Westbrook Community Center, 301 Kennedy Drive (next to the Northern Nevada African American Firefighter Museum).

Retired from NV Energy (Sierra Pacific Power), Mrs. Phillips serves as the president of the Reno/Sparks Club of the National Association of Negro Business Professional Women’s Clubs, Inc. as well as serving as the Western District Governor of the Association.

This historic organization focuses on Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Technology and Service.

Donald Griffin, Co-founder and Director  of Black Wall Street Reno will provide a different perspective from a contemporary start-up.
As one of the two founders, “We conceived of the idea when we was trying to structure some type of platform for the community,” he said. “And just doing our history, we thought about the Black Wall Street, how they all developed business. You had your local hair shop, getting your hair cut. We had all our own grocery stores, we done for ourselves…We went from there and developed the idea of the Black Wall Street—the first Black Wall Street of Reno, Nevada.”
A large part of the BWS goal is to foster learning and encourage entrepreneurship among Reno’s younger Black people in the hopes they’ll stay in the community after they’ve attained success.
BWSR Co-founder RoMarTolliver reminds us all “my responsibility is to make sure our youth have the proper education in self-preservation, credit building, vocational skills, home economics, leadership training, and FUN while learning how to be productive members of society. Most of all, my goal is to make sure they can be proud of themselves.

Nevada Humanities has funded Our Story, Inc to provide a series of forums covering a variety of contributing efforts by African-Americans to the Northern Nevada community by joining with the Commission in its mission to produce and supports humanities-based educational and cultural programs that articulate the Nevada experience, feature local culture and heritage, and facilitate the investigation of ideas that matter to the people of Nevada and their communities.

The program is free and open to the public. Please feel free to circulate this announcement amongst friends, colleagues and those you feel would like to participate in lively conversation.

If you are planning to attend, it would be helpful if you would drop a note to osi.ourstoryinc@gmail.com