People from across the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area came to the Greater Washington Black Chamber of Commerce (GWBCC) “The Art of Black Business 2025 Juneteenth Awards Ceremony” to celebrate the work and accomplishments of selected business leaders and advocates on June 30.
The annual event, this year held at Rooftop @1000 Maine Avenue SW, is designed to recognize the importance of both the Black business community in the National Capital area and the Juneteenth federal holiday, a day America celebrates the freedom of African Americans from slavery.
Several honorees were celebrated for their contributions to Black business and industries in the District, including: Kristina Noell, the first African American woman to serve as a Business Improvement District (BID) executive director in Washington, D.C.; Amanda Stephenson, founder of Fresh Food Factory, which combats food deserts in Ward 8; and Yusef Henriques, who launched a genomics startup in D.C. to advance health equity for Indigenous and African diasporic communities; Chefs Mac McAlister and Pinkey Reddick, owners of Flavorture; and Legacy Award winners B. Doyle Mitchell Jr., president and CEO of Industrial Bank, and Washington Informer Publisher Denise Rolark Barnes.
Luminaries attending the event included: D.C. Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie (I-At Large) who serves as the chair of the Committee on Business and Economic Development; D.C. Shadow Rep. Oye Owolewa (D); Dr. Jacque Patterson, at-large member of the D.C. State Board of Education; Alexander K. Austin, the president and CEO of the Prince George’s Chamber of Commerce; and Brookings Institute Scholar Dr. Andre Perry.
“Black business is the strength of the Black community,” Perry told The Informer.
Corey Arnez Griffin serves as the chair of the board of directors for GWBCC and told the Informer that the awards ceremony serves a distinct purpose.
“The awardees are especially deserving at this difficult time,” said Griffin, 54, inferring about the Trump administration’s retrenchment on minority business programs and diversity, equity and inclusion efforts of public and private entities. “When we considered the honorees, we really looked at who we could honor that has made contributions to the business community.”
2025 Honorees Are Recognized
Aisha Bond, the president of the GWBCC, recognized each of the honorees, adding an anecdote about their entrepreneurial achievements and community contributions.
Noell, executive director of Anacostia BID, received the Art of Black Business Award for her efforts to encourage African American-owned businesses in the Anacostia neighborhood in Ward 8
The Social Impact Award went to Stephenson, owner of Fresh Food Factory, a business that operates in the Sycamore & Oak retail complex in the St. Elizabeths East Campus in the Congress Heights neighborhood of Ward 8. Bond said Stephenson’s passion for entrepreneurship and the desire to serve good fruit and vegetables to east of the Anacostia River residents fueled her desire to create the Fresh Food Factory.
The GWBCC president announced the Business Partnership of the Year Award went to the Capital Workforce Innovation Consortium, a program of the D.C. Department of Employment Services (DOES).
The director of DOES, Dr. Unique Morris-Hughes, did not attend the event but sent Deputy Director Kenneth Walker and Ximena Gates-Hartsock, to represent the agency and receive the award.
“This is an awesome honor,” Walker told The Informer. “We know businesses need support and want to supply what local Black businesses need.”
Henriques, the owner of IndyGeneUS ai, was feted as the Business Innovator of the Year.
“This is a great recognition of being an innovator,” he said. “We have been in business for three years and we are one of the few firms in the city that focuses on the life sciences.”
Chefs McAlister and Reddick accepted the Ascension Award on behalf of their restaurant, Flavorture, located in Northwest. Bond said Flavorture is the first Black-owned business to operate in the Woodley Park neighborhood of the District.
“I checked that out,” the GWBCC president said. “That is the truth.”
Reddick, 39, said she was floored when they found out about their honor.
“It’s good to be recognized,” she said. “That doesn’t happen every day and sometimes you don’t get the recognition that you deserve.”
Legacy award winners Mitchell and Rolark Barnes were honored for their long-established Black businesses and their work as board members of the GWBCC.
Bond noted Rolark Barnes’ “resilience, innovation, and deep commitment to community empowerment.”
“As the successor to her father, the late Dr. Calvin W. Rolark, who founded The Washington Informer in 1964, Denise has continued and expanded the paper’s mission, serving as a trusted voice for the Black community and continues to be a proud pioneering member of this chamber board,” Bond continued.
Amid The Informer’s yearlong 60th anniversary celebration, Rolark Barnes said the honor is a reflection of the commitment to Black business and the District’s African American community that her family has had.
“I am extremely grateful to receive the Legacy Award, along with B. Doyle Mitchell of Industrial Bank, from the Greater Washington Black Chamber of Commerce. The turnout at last night’s event was impressive and so was the attendance of owners of Black-owned businesses in D.C,” said Barnes, 70. “The Washington Informer just turned 60, and Industrial Bank just turned 90, which absolutely demonstrates legacy. I hope we have inspired those young entrepreneurs to stay in the game though times may get tough. We did it and so can they. Black-owned businesses need a cheerleader like the GWBCC which also advocates for fairness and equity.”
Perry, who has written books and articles on Black entrepreneurship, watched the awards ceremony with pride.
“Black businesses that employ people have grown 50% since 2017 and that is through the first Trump administration, the COVID-19 pandemic and the Biden administration,” he said. “There is a resolve in the Black business community that cannot be denied.”