On December 5, 2019, Black Young Professionals of Metro Detroit had the honor of hosting the 9th Annual Detroit Black Professional Affinity Organizations Holiday Mixer.
For the 9th annual event, Black Young Professionals selected planning team member Whitley Young as the event chair. Whitley controlled all aspects of the event including venue selection. This year’s venue was The Whittier, a partially renovated high rise residential complex and former hotel listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Whittier is situated on the lower east side of Detroit, just outside of downtown.
This year’s theme was “Business, Friendship, and Community” with a spotlight on the newly formed Detroit Coalition for Economic Inclusion (DCEI) as the beneficiary of the evening. Presidents of all participating Affinity organizations accept nominations for beneficiary candidates, then the presidents hold a private vote to determine the final section.
This year’s participating Affinity organizations included:
- Black Young Professionals of Metro Detroit (BYP)
- Association of Black Psychologists (ABPsi)
- Michigan Minority Contractors Association (MMCA)
- National Association of Black Accountants, Inc. – Detroit Chapter (NABA Detroit)
- National Association of Black Women in Construction (NABWIC)
- National Association of Minority Consulting Engineers (NAMCE)
- National Black Data Processing Associates – Detroit Chapter (BDPA)
- National Black MBA Association Detroit Chapter (NBMBAA)
- National Society of Black Engineers, Detroit Professionals Chapter (NSBE)
- National Sales Network Detroit Chapter (NSN)
- National African-American Insurance Association (NAAIA)
- National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA)
Every year, 100% of the net proceeds from this event go to the selected beneficiary. For 2020 we were able to gift just over $3,200 to DCEI.
About the 2019 Beneficiary
The Detroit Coalition for Economic Inclusion (DCEI) works to push for changes to give black-owned businesses a fair opportunity to participate in the development and building of new commercial projects in Detroit. Economic inclusion is the vital next step in the rise of the Black community, specifically in addressing the racial wealth gap and unemployment rates. Detroit, as a city, is in the midst of its own “comeback”, yet the long-standing citizens and businesses who’ve held the city down for years prior to this are being left out of the resurgence. DCEI hopes to change that tide.
About the Affinity coalition
The Detroit Black Professional Affinity Organizations is a voluntary coalition of over fifteen non-profit Black professional associations operating in metro Detroit since 2011. The purpose of the alliance is to promote unity in the Black professional community across all local companies, industries, and academic backgrounds. This is achieved through jointly planned events, resource sharing and collective strategic advocacy on issues important to Black professionals and their associations.
We’d like to sincerely thank everyone who attended this wonderful event. Special thanks to our sponsor, Let’s Detroit for assisting with this wonderful event! You can find a few select photos from the event below. The full official photo albums can be found on our Facebook and Google Photos.
