Two black vendors at the 114th National NAACP Convention have signed important contracts with the City of Boston. More than five months after the convention, Ricardo Pierre-Louis, founder and CEO of Prive Parking, and Rose, owner and founder of the Dorchester-based event company,・Starum said. rosemark productionreflecting the city’s commitment to Black businesses.
After the July convention, Stalum shared that Rosemark had been hired by the Massachusetts Black Business Council for a two-day event.
“But they are Black-owned businesses. So RoseMark has yet to sign a non-Black-owned business in Boston again, which is a little disappointing. But we’re trying to move forward. “There are,” Stalum said. boston public radio.
For Stalum, pre-tournament business in Boston was virtually non-existent. Even though he performed at high-profile national and international events, breaking into the local business scene proved difficult.
“It’s about who you know and who likes you. And unfortunately, if you’re not in that cycle, it’s very difficult to get into that cycle,” Stalum said.
Pierre-Louis said the competition helped raise his profile. Privéparking received two grants totaling $20,000. This allowed him to completely redo the company’s website. He also became a member of Prive He Parking, an organization specializing in large meetings and conventions in Boston.
Prive Parking had a one-day contract to light a Christmas tree in downtown Boston, but no contract has been signed since then.
Both vendors agree there is more work to be done.
“We were attending a press conference, [Mayor Wu] He showed that he had made some progress in contracting with black vendors. We are so proud of what she has accomplished. However, there is still much work to be done. The state has a lot of work to do. “There’s still a lot of work to be done at the Boston Convention Center,” Stalum said.
Looking ahead, Pierre-Louis hopes to enter into a future parking and parking management agreement with the Boston Planning and Development Authority. In recent years, he said, contracts have been awarded to publicly traded companies in California.
“Will it just be the same members that started this deal over the last 15 years, or will there really be differences and changes?” Pierre-Louis said.
“It’s so funny to hear people say, ‘You can’t find talent in Boston.’ There aren’t enough black people who are entrepreneurs.” No, they are there. We just bring them in and give them an opportunity,” Stalum said.
