What is the Wisconsin Black Chamber of Commerce, and why is Biden visiting there?

Steven Martinez, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

When President Joe Biden visits Milwaukee Wednesday, he'll make one planned stop: at the Wisconsin Black Chamber of Commerce.

What is the Black Chamber of Commerce, and why did Biden schedule a visit there?

Here's what we know.

What is the Wisconsin Black Chamber of Commerce?

Ruben Hopkins, Wisconsin Black Chamber of Commerce CEO and Chairman, is all smiles on Tuesday, March 7, 2023 at the new location of the the Wisconsin Black Chamber of Commerce at 2900 W. Vliet St. The new two-story building that offers 25, 000 foot will undergo renovations and is expected to be open in a few months. The move will allow the chamber to do more training focused on access to capital and business development to grow Black entrepreneurs. The 1923 building once housed a metal fabrication shop and more recently was storage space for a mattress facility.

The Wisconsin Black Chamber of Commerce is an organization dedicated to "to make(ing) Black people the largest employer of Black people," according to Chairman/CEO Ruben Hopkins.

The chamber, which was created in the early 2000s, executes that mission in a variety of ways by investing in Black-owned businesses; providing entrepreneurial training; offering seed money to help start-ups get off the ground; providing technical assistance and helping existing businesses seeking to expand; and marketing.

Other chamber plans include creating a Black business expo for Wisconsin.

Hopkins' latest goal is called the 3,000 Black Business Challenge, which hopes to create 3,000 new Black-owned businesses in the state by 2024.

More: Here's how Wisconsin's Black chamber plans to create 3,000 new businesses statewide by 2024

Where is the Wisconsin Black Chamber of Commerce?

The chamber's office is on West Vliet Street in Milwaukee in a 1923 building that used to house a mattress factory among other things.

The organization bought and renovated the space earlier in 2023 with funds from a $5 million grant it received from the governor’s office. The funding is part of Gov. Tony Evers' $1 billion investment to support small businesses and industries hit hard by the pandemic as well as communities that have been historically unable to access capital or credit to recover. The money comes from the American Rescue Plan Act.

Why is Joe Biden visiting the Wisconsin Black Chamber of Commerce?

Biden will likely highlight federal funding the chamber has received to help Black-owned businesses get off the ground and to stay in business through technical assistance and marketing, among other benefits.

The visit might also be tied to Biden's persistently negative poll numbers in Wisconsin ahead of 2024 presidential election season.

Wisconsin, as ever, will be a key battleground state in the presidential race.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: What is the Wisconsin Black Chamber of Commerce?

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