Internationally known activist Dick Gregory (right) attended the National Black
Chamber of Commerce’s (NBCC) “Changing of the Chairs” luncheon on Monday, March 4. with Dorothy R. Leavell (center), Editor and Publisher of the Crusader Newspaper Group (Chicago, IL and Gary, IN), who was named incoming Chairperson of the NBCC and Harry Alford, President and CEO of the NBCC.
Earlier this week on Monday, March 4, National Black Chamber of Commerce president Harry Alford announced renowned publisher and businesswoman Dorothy R. Leavell has been installed as the new chairperson of the nation’s leading minority business organization. She will preside over the group’s 18-member board of directors and help the trade organization expand its mission of strengthening minority-owned businesses, job creation and increase trade and economic opportunities in the U.S. and abroad.
“Dorothy has extensive expertise in the areas of marketing, economic development and job creation having been at the helm of a successful business for more than four decades.” Alford said. “Combined with her passion for African American advancement and her commitment to young people, I look forward to working with her as our new chair. This is an exciting time in the Chamber’s history.”
Leavell is publisher and chief executive director of the Crusader Newspaper Group, which has published weekly newspapers in Chicago, Illinois and Gary, Indiana since 1940 and 1961, respectively. Previously, she has served as the first female chairperson of Amalgamated Publishers, a company that sold national advertising for more than 200 African American papers across the country. For more than two decades, she has served in a variety of executive positions with the powerful National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA). The married mother of two and grandmother of three is the co-founder of Heroes in the Hood, a program that celebrates extraordinary accomplishments of young people who have gone unrecognized in the mainstream media. The award-winning civic leader has also led trade missions to African and the Caribbean.
“I very much look forward to working with the president and board of directors, staff and volunteers on conducting the business of the Chamber–from our annual award conference, regional gatherings, and our year-round mission of expanding economic opportunity to our members, “ Leavell said. “Equally important, I will continue to champion our cause of wealth creation by forging international business opportunities for African Americans and emerging entrepreneurs in the rest of the African Diaspora.”