Biden Touts ‘Small Business Boom’ In Visit to Milwaukee
President hails record rise in Black-owned businesses in speech at WI Black Chamber of Commerce.
Joe Biden speaks at the Wisconsin Black Chamber of Commerce, 2900 W. Vliet Street. Photo taken Dec. 20, 2023 by Sophie Bolich.
President Joe Biden highlighted his contributions to what he calls a “small business boom” during a visit to Milwaukee on Wednesday.
Speaking at the Wisconsin Black Chamber of Commerce (WBCC), 2900 W. Vliet St., the president touted Bidenomics, his plan to grow the economy by strengthening the lower and middle classes and pointed to Milwaukee’s thriving small business scene as an example of the plan’s success.
“So many of you had the vision and took the risk to open businesses — you bet on yourself,” Biden said, addressing a crowd largely comprised of local business owners. “You’re proof that Black small businesses, with their talent and integrity and ingenuity, are the engines and the glue that hold the community together. I mean that sincerely.”
The crowd also heard from local and state leaders including Congresswoman Gwen Moore, Governor Tony Evers, Mayor Cavalier Johnson and Ruben Hopkins, CEO and chairman of the WBCC.
“Small businesses are the hearts of our local communities and they’re huge economic drivers, too,” Evers said. “99% of businesses in our state are small businesses, and they employ almost half of Wisconsin workers.”
The country as a whole is on track for the three strongest years in history for new small business applications, with 15 million filed since Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris took office in 2021. Additionally, Black business ownership is growing at a record pace — the fastest in three decades, said the president.
“Every new business opening is a vote for hope,” Biden said.
Biden also announced new investments to encourage future growth.
The Grow Milwaukee Coalition is one of 22 finalists for the Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration Distressed Area Recompete Pilot (Recompete) Program. Funded by the CHIPS and Science Act, the program will award grants of up to $50 million to winning coalitions.
“I’ve seen firsthand the benefits that the CHIPS and Science Act — and increasing U.S. manufacturing — the impact that it has had on Milwaukee,” said Moore.
The Grow Milwaukee Coalition proposal aims to revitalize Milwaukee’s historic 30th Street Industrial Corridor and connect the historically segregated Black community to economic opportunity across the city.
The mayor shared his excitement to welcome the president back to the city.
“Joe Biden believes in the American worker, and he believes in workers right here in this city, right here in Milwaukee, right here in the state of Wisconsin,” Johnson said. “I also hope that the president got a glimpse of our neighborhood commercial corridors, where small business owners are investing in their dreams and their future.”
The president fulfilled that hope just after arriving in Milwaukee, making a trip to the Garden Homes neighborhood to meet with Rashawn Spivey, founder and owner of Hero Plumbing. Spivey’s company, a Black-owned business, is working to remove lead service lines in Milwaukee; the city will receive millions in funding to facilitate the process, thanks to Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
And though multiple speakers on Wednesday — including the president himself — referenced Biden’s commitment to rid the country of lead service lines by the end of the decade, Milwaukee is unlikely to meet that deadline. City officials are pursuing a 20-year plan, given available funding and contractor capacity.
The WBCC, more than just a site for the president’s visit, will soon act as a support system for even more small businesses; the chamber purchased the building earlier this year with the goal of launching and growing 3,000 Black-owned businesses.
The 25,600-square-foot complex will be redeveloped for office space for the chamber and space for its member organizations. The 123-year-old building has been used for most of its life as a tool-and-die shop. Plans for the building also include a small business incubator program, restaurant and community roller skating rink.
During a short speech, Hopkins listed just a few of the chamber’s many recent accomplishments; his allotted time ran out before he could cover them all. “We are excited to welcome President Biden, but especially all of you into our space today,” he said, pointing into the crowd.
Biden last visited Milwaukee in August, when he spoke to a crowd at Ingeteam. During that visit, the president touted green jobs, low unemployment and rebuilding the middle class in a speech at the factory.
The Biden-Harris ticket narrowly won Wisconsin by 21,000 votes in 2020. As of Wednesday, 320 days remain until the next presidential election.
Although Biden was greeted with a crowd of supporters at WBCC, his visit and support of Israel ruffled a few feathers. Crowds of pro-Palestine protesters gathered outside of the building in anticipation of the president’s arrival. The groups waved Palestinian flags and held a banner imploring Biden to “stop killing kids” and “stop genocide now.”
The Republican National Committee also issued a statement criticizing the tour stop. “Democrats abandoned Milwaukee in 2020, but Republicans are delivering,” Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement. “As we bring historic economic investments ahead of our 2024 Convention and policy solutions from lowering costs to school choice, Wisconsinites aren’t interested in more lip service from Joe Biden.”
Republicans overwhelmingly opposed the American Rescue Plan, which provided substantial aid to governments and businesses. Additionally, many Republicans in Congress, including Sen. Ron Johnson, voted against the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Johnson, as he has been in the past, was a frequent target of Biden’s criticism Wednesday.
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