By Megan Sayles
AFRO Staff Writer
msayles@afro.com
Candidates for Maryland’s Districts 40 and 45 gathered at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture on Jan. 5 for a political forum on the state of Black business.
Credit: AFRO Photo/Megan Sayles
Hosted by the Greater Baltimore Black Chamber of Commerce (GBBCC), the discussion comes amid an election year, with incumbents seeking to hold their seats while new— and familiar— candidates challenge them.
“We are honored to gather this evening with elected officials, candidates, business leaders, community advocates and residents who understand that economic opportunity is not theoretical— it’s personal, local and urgent,” said Colby Smith, legislative chair for GBBCC. “Tonight is about alignment. It’s about how policy, leadership and entrepreneurship intersect to create real pathways for Black-owned businesses to grow, hire and thrive.”
The evening featured two panels—one for District 40 and another for District 45— where candidates shared strategies and solutions for challenges in Maryland’s procurement system and the broader Black business landscape.
District 40 on state contracting
Chad Williams, executive director of West North Avenue Development Authority (WNADA), moderated the panel for District 40, which included Delegates Marlon Amprey and Melissa Wells, along with candidates Crystal Parker, Braxton Street and Tiffany Welch.
The discussion covered a range of topics—including agency reporting, accountability surrounding MBE goals, access for Black businesses in the state procurement system and the overall health of Black businesses in Maryland.
Every candidate emphasized the need to unbundle contracts in the state procurement system to give smaller Black-owned firms a chance to compete as prime contractors.
“As a delegate, I would champion opening doors, removing barriers and expanding opportunities,” said Welch. “When I say opening doors, I mean relooking at how we think about our contracts, unbundling contracts and either decreasing or eliminating single-bid procurement options to expand the playing field so that we are competitive and have opportunities.”
Some candidates pointed out that reforms to the procurement process must account not only for state-level policies but also for potential challenges from the presidential administration and the courts.
“The reality is we are up against a serious foe and the Supreme Court. At any moment in time, a legal challenge can upend our entire system,” said Amprey. “For a lot of the reforms, we have to start thinking about legal language and make sure that we’re thinking through how we can be race-neutral on some things but still have the impact to make sure Black businesses are thriving.”
Credit: AFRO Photo/Megan Sayles
All candidates expressed support for a MBE fiscal note to accompany all budget legislation involving state agencies, ensuring minority business participation is considered in every funding decision. They also stressed greater accountability and enforcement for agencies that fail to meet MBE goals.
“The agencies need to explain why they miss goals, outline corrective actions, fix the bottlenecks, use tech-driven timelines to speed up the certification process so that businesses can compete and then set realistic, construct-specific goals,” said Parker. “Targets have to reflect the actual availability of African-American and women-owned businesses and align with the disparity study.”
Street added that underperformance should be tied directly to agency leadership.
“If we can track government performance at all levels, we can do the same thing with equity,” said Street. “That includes oversight and corrective action plans, but in order to get people to change behavior, you have to sometimes hit them in the pocket.”
Candidates also called for more detailed agency reporting to identify gaps in MBE participation. Wells said she would like to see breakdown of contract sizes awarded, noting that understanding where Black-owned businesses are able— or unable— to compete is crucial to reforming the system.
“We need a pipeline of MBEs at all junctures,” said Wells. “If you’re able to qualify for a quarter million dollar project and you’re successful at it, we can look at how we can move you further and further up the chain.”
District 45 on supporting local Black businesses
Former Baltimore City Council President Nick Mosby served as the moderator for the District 45 panel, which included Delegates Caylin Young and Stephanie Smith and candidate and former Councilman Robert R. Stokes.
The conversation centered on legislation they would champion to benefit Black businesses, efforts to revive historic Black business corridors and strategies for expanding access to capital and workforce development programs.
Stokes emphasized the critical role of data in exposing inequities in lending and capital access.
“Minority-owned businesses face higher interest rates and less favorable terms than their White counterparts,” said Stokes. “We need the data to understand the extent of this disparity. If we don’t have the data, and the data is not addressing these concerns, we’re just having conversations.”
When asked how they would revitalize District 45’s historic Black business corridor on East Monument Street, all candidates emphasized the need for targeted investment, improved access to capital and community-led redevelopment.
Smith noted that while two-thirds of the city’s population lives in majority-Black corridors, less than a third of small business lending reaches these areas.
“Something I’ve been advocating for is having a state bank— a banker’s bank, not for consumer reasons. We have banks, like Harbor Bank and Fulton Bank, and we have credit unions that have missions to support the very communities we live in, but they’re not adequately capitalized to live out their mission fully,” said Smith. “I’m interested in creating more opportunities for capital because we can have all the data we want, but if people don’t have money to launch, maintain and grow their businesses, we’re just rehashing anxiety about the disparities.”
All candidates also stressed the importance of workforce development in strengthening Black communities, particularly by creating pathways for entrepreneurship, trades and household-sustaining jobs. Young emphasized the need for strong apprenticeship programs and proper wage enforcement.
“We know that a union job is a job that you can raise a family and buy a house on. We’ve been working with unions to make sure that those apprenticeship programs exist and that they’re robust, but we also need to make sure that people are being paid the appropriate wages,” said Young. “Right now, we’ve got prime contractors who are not staying on top of their subcontractors to make sure that they are paying people and they classify them appropriately. People who are painters and carpenters are being classified as laborers, and that’s a $20 an hour difference.”
