rainbow/push’s eighth annual detroit automotive symposium
 |
|
|
DETROIT – The picturesque Detroit Yacht Club on Belle Isle provided a tranquil backdrop to a most profound dilemma: the future of minority entrepreneurs, employees and consumers in this precarious and tumultuous automotive environment. The eighth annual Detroit Automotive Symposium, headed by Rev. Jesse Jackson, is an economic forum for the nation’s manufacturers, suppliers, dealers and business owners. A variety of panelists pontificated on topics ranging from: growth, job opportunities, auto manufacturers’ commitment to diversity and minority suppliers, and the need for black consumers to patronize African American-owned dealerships. General Motors’ chairman and CEO, Richard Wagoner, who was the keynote luncheon speaker, detailed his company’s commitment to inclusion.
Congressman John Conyers, D-Mich., the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, said he lauds Rev. Jackson because “[In this] era of downsizing and changing of relationships between the auto companies, the dealers and the suppliers, the function of African Americans and other minorities involvement becomes very, very critical.”
Jackson, founder of Rainbow/PUSH, says, “We must fight for our share of dealerships. We must fight for our share of franchises. We must fight for our share of minority contracts. This year, we were able to help keep open the businesses of eight minority suppliers, who employ over 3,000 people, who were on their way out. If we fight together, we will prevail.” –terry shropshire
