More than 30 Black chambers of commerce from across Texas are converging on Fort Worth this week, bringing entrepreneurs, community advocates, and business leaders together for a three-day conference aimed at strengthening what organizers call a sustainable Black economy. The Texas Association of African American Chambers of Commerce holds its 2026 annual conference Wednesday through Friday at the DoubleTree by Hilton Fort Worth South Hotel & Conference Center on Altamesa Boulevard East.
The organization represents more than 30 Black chambers and advocates for more than 350,000 Black-owned businesses statewide, according to Fort Worth Report. Charles O'Neal, the association's president, said Black chambers and the businesses they represent are working on solutions to the challenges Black-owned firms face while building toward a sustainable Black economy. O'Neal said the conference supports plans and strategies aimed at the quality of life, sustainability, profitability, and viability of Black-owned businesses.
The gathering follows the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce's national conference in Fort Worth earlier this month, part of a broader run of convention business the city is courting. Amy Brown, chief sales and strategy officer at Visit Fort Worth, said the city will host more than 200 meetings, conventions, and events in 2027, including Texas FFA, the Texas Division of Emergency Management, the National Beta Club, and NCAA Men's Basketball. Velenda Dewberry, director of southeast region sales for Visit Fort Worth, is also involved in courting that convention business, per the report.
Conference Programming Targets Capital and Contracts
This year's program includes keynote speakers, sessions on access to capital, artificial intelligence workshops, an awards dinner, vendor hubs, and a 2027 legislative update. An economic summit closes out the conference Friday at 10 a.m., focused on advancing business development through networking, connections with government contractors, and business-to-business opportunities across the public and private sectors.
The programming arrives at a pointed moment for local Black business advocacy. On June 3, 2025, the Fort Worth City Council voted 7-4 to suspend its diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in order to protect $277 million in federal funding, replacing those programs with a race- and gender-neutral Small Business Enterprise Program, according to WFAA. The vote made Fort Worth the first major North Texas city to formally suspend DEI efforts following federal directives.
Local Chamber Adjusts Strategy Around Certifications
Michelle Green-Ford, president and CEO of the Fort Worth Metropolitan Black Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber has continued supporting minority- and women-owned businesses even as the city's policy shifted. The chamber has emphasized certifications for minority- and women-owned firms as a way to increase competition for city contracts under the new framework, and Green-Ford said the organization has grown its financial strength through community partnerships and corporate sponsorships.
KERA News reported on Feb. 2, 2022, that Green-Ford had been appointed the chamber's president and CEO, making her the first woman to lead the organization in its more than 40-year history, according to KERA News. She succeeded Devoyd “Dee” Jennings, who died in July 2020.
A Statewide Network
North Texas has long served as an anchor for Black business advocacy.
That history sits alongside recent growth. Texas ranked third nationally in 2022 with 16,849 majority Black-owned employer firms, trailing only Florida and Georgia, according to U.S. Census Bureau data analyzed by the Pew Research Center. Gross revenue generated by majority Black-owned employer businesses nationwide grew 66%, from $127.9 billion in 2017 to $211.8 billion across 194,585 firms in 2022, per federal economic survey data.
Fort Worth itself has seen mixed results in translating that growth into local wins. Sharon Douglas, owner and CEO of Potere Construction, is among the entrepreneurs represented at this week's conference. Lance Randall, hired in February 2025 as deputy director for economic development, brought 29 years of public and private sector economic development experience, including business recruitment, to the role. He previously served as executive director of the Black Business Association of Oregon.
The Fort Worth City Council terminated its contract with developer Hoque Global in December 2023 for the revitalization of the historic Evans-Rosedale corridor in Southside Fort Worth.
