AUSTIN, Texas —
While Juneteenth parades and celebrations continue across Texas, the African American Leadership Institute will host its second annual Black X Conference on Monday.
The conference is designed to foster connections and job opportunities for Austin's Black community.
Bini Coleman, co-founder and CEO of the African American Leadership Institute, believes it's important to host the event to provide resources and help with the retention of African Americans to our city.
"We have, unfortunately, a declining Black population in the Austin area. So for 45 years, it's been declining. It's the only large U.S. city that has a declining Black population while the rest of the population is growing overall," Coleman said. "So we want to make sure that we are welcoming people from around African Americans, from around the state and nation, even here."
The conference will bring together a diverse range of leaders, industry experts and aspiring entrepreneurs. There will be group discussions, workshops and networking opportunities.
"So now when you come here from other places, for example, now there is a sense of connection right off. We streamline the connections, you know, where to go to, to insert your leadership voice, have ownership. So when people bring their families here now, they're already connected and they're not kind of searching for community even when they get here," Coleman said.
Conference attendees will have the chance to explore aspects of business development, innovation, leadership and different success strategies.
Coleman also said by hosting the conference on Juneteenth, the institute is able to leverage a few things to help get more people to come out.
"Now it's a national holiday a lot of people have off. Texas is the birthplace for Juneteenth itself. Here we are in the capital. It's a great conference city. We want to make sure that people know that they are welcome from all over the state and nation. Come here and then you get to get this deep dive into Austin issues and what is the landscape of Austin," Coleman said.
The keynote speaker will be Mandy Price, a University of Texas alum and the only African American woman in Texas whose company raised more than $10 million from venture capital.
If you're interested in attending the event, you're asked to pre-register for a ticket on the website.