Page 5 - RCBCC Annual Report 2018

RIVERSIDE COUNTY BLACK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 2018 ANNUAL REPORT

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

The Riverside County Black Chamber of Commerce Leading by Example

The word, Kujichagulia (ku-ji-cha-gu-lia) from the African language Swahili, means “self-
determination,” more precisely it means to be responsible for creating your own life’s course, defining
who you are and not letting others name or limit you, think for yourself, speak for yourself, have your
own opinions, and not just follow the crowd.

Self Determination is the foundation of great business leaders, in fact, without self-determination, you
really cannot be a leader. If the famous motivational speaker Les Brown had allowed his teachers to
define him as “un-educable” we would have missed his brilliance as a world class motivational speaker.
Similarly, if Daymond John, the founder of FUBU, and now the billionaire business mogul, once defined
as a little “hip-hop clothing business” had he believed in those limits he would have not gone far.
Daymond however, saw himself as much more than that – he saw a world class clothier.
The bottom line, whether in your personal life or business life. The common denominator for success is
to have a vision and lead and operate with self-determination.
The Riverside County Black Chamber of Commerce (RCBCC) definiens ourselves as a Chamber of
Commerce with a broad reach. We are also more, we are a non-profit organization with a mission of
holistic entrepreneurship. We are “a membership organization dedicated to offering products, services and
educational programs for Black Businesses and professionals.” But that is not all we do. We empower
Black and Veteran Businesses to create employment opportunities in the community. We strive to make
our communities healthier economically and physically.

RCBCC is committed to improve the mind, body and spirit of our members and the community. We are
proud of the work we do in the general community. We do this outreach regardless of color or ethnic
background, for example, through our Covered California community outreach program for 2018, we
helped 500 plus Hispanic/Latinos, Asians, and White families enroll into affordable healthcare. In 2019
we will continue to reach out to our underserved, and minority communities.

As a Black Chamber of Commerce, we build economic development we also show what economic
empowerment looks like. In this Annual Report you will see the results of our efforts. I take this time to
thank our many, many small business members, who in my book are “Big” if not in size, then for sure, in
“Heart.”

Thank you, to all of our sponsors, our volunteers, our team and our county and city elected officials. I
offer a special thank you to my wife Sylvia Jackson, who has lovingly supported me every step of the
way!

In 2019 we will continue to lead by example and practice Kujichagulia.

Happy New Year!

Pepi Jackson Pepi Jackson