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Examining efforts to raise awareness about the need for equitable business funding

Posted at 6:29 PM, Sep 23, 2021
and last updated 2021-09-27 20:09:27-04

(WXYZ) — Ahead of his participation in the Mackinac Policy Conference, CEO of Black Leaders Detroit Dwan Dandridge biked the 377 miles from Detroit to Mackinac to bring awareness to the need for equitable funding for black-owned businesses, non-profits, and entrepreneurship.

He's joining us for the 7 UpFront segment to talk about it.

You can see the full interview in the video player above.

"I think that we're in a time where there's a lot of attention being focused in response to the devastation the pandemic has caused. The problem is there was issues and disparities and the playing field wasn't balanced long before the pandemic," Dandridge says. "I think the pandemic just shined a spotlight on something that was already existing. We actually launched in 2019 because we knew, we were aware there was a need there. I just think we're in a special time now where there's a chance for us to solve a problem because we have a lot more attention, a lot more eyes on the issue."