(SOUTHEAST DC – June 13, 2026) – When we launched the first event in Washington, D.C., back in 2011, it wasn’t called the Black Wall Street Awards. It was called the Black Capital Awards. At the time, I was still learning the full story of Tulsa’s Greenwood District and the massacre of May 31–June 1, 1921. I had heard pieces of the story, but I had not yet connected all the dots between that history and the work I was trying to do. What I didn’t fully appreciate then was that I had spent my entire life walking through Baltimore’s own version of Black Wall Street. I didn’t know the terminology yet. I just knew the people. The funeral directors. The pastors. The entrepreneurs. The beauty shop owners. The barbers. The business owners. The people who built. Growing up in a family business founded in 1965, Black ownership wasn’t something I studied. It was something I lived. Long before I learned about Greenwood, I was already surrounded by Black Wall Street. What I did know was this: Black people build. We build businesses. We build families. We build churches. We build communities. We build institutions. And despite every obstacle placed in our path, we keep building. Fifteen years later, what started as a single event has grown into a movement that has recognized more than 3,000 entrepreneurs, professionals, educators, advocates, clergy, public servants, artists, and community leaders across nine cities. Along the way, I have not walked alone. Brothers like Renny Bass, Thomas Hardnett, Sanjay Thomas, and John Bugg helped us build the Black Wall Street Awards brick by brick. I tried not to wear them out. My father taught me never to wear out my welcome. You’re supposed to give more than you take. If you make a mistake, fix it. Apologize if you have to. Then get back to work. Oh, the money will come. Beyond Tulsa: A Bigger Black Wall Street As I learned more about Tulsa, I also began asking bigger questions. Most people know about one Black Wall Street. Tulsa. What many people don’t realize is that there were other communities also known as Black Wall Street. Richmond, Virginia. Durham, North Carolina. And countless other business districts, freedom colonies, and self-sustaining Black communities scattered throughout the Americas. As I wrote in my book, I Am Black Wall Street (2021), Black Wall Street was never just a place. It was an idea. A tradition. A determination to build economic power regardless of the obstacles. And that realization led me to another question: How far back does the story go? Long before the transatlantic slave trade. Long before anyone called this land “America.” The transatlantic slave trade forcibly displaced approximately 12.5 million Africans. Only about 4 to 6 percent—roughly 388,000 people—were brought directly to what is now the United States. Most were taken to Brazil, while millions more were dispersed throughout the Caribbean and Latin America. Yet even that horrific chapter is not the beginning of our…
LIVE Taping of The Doni Glover Show (BALTIMORE – June 11, 2026) — In response to Election Day activities across Baltimore,…
(BALTIMORE – June 10, 2026) – Boy, this has been one heck of an election season in Baltimore. The level…
(OWINGS MILLS, MD – June 10, 2026) – These are the toughest stories to write—about people you have known for decades. One day, you realize…
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Ep 96 Ownership and Liquidity on Podbean, check it out! https://www.podbean.com/ea/pb-p86bu-1ab8396
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BLACK WALL STREET WOODLAWN — 2026 HONOREE PROFILE From a 9-to-5 to multiple LLCs, Kizzy Dawkins turned a leap of faith into a full life of purpose — one pour, one property, one person at a time. (BALTIMORE – May 30, 2026) — There is a moment in every entrepreneur’s story where the comfort of a steady paycheck goes up against the pull of something bigger. Most people stay put. Kizzy Dawkins walked away. That decision — bold, deliberate, and rooted in faith — set in motion more than 13 years of building a career and brand in the bartending…
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JOE MANNS BLACK WALL STREET AWARDS | WOODLAWN | 15TH ANNIVERSARY (WOODLAWN – May 28, 2026) – Some people talk about hustle. Jason McAlpin lives it. Born in Brooklyn to hardworking Trinidadian immigrants who came to this country with nothing but determination and a work ethic that wouldn’t quit, Jason learned early what it means to show up — fully, consistently, and with excellence. That foundation has carried him through more than 20 years behind the bar, from neighborhood pubs to upscale fine dining rooms to high-end catering experiences that demand nothing less than perfection. On Thursday, June 4, 2026,…
JOE MANNS BLACK WALL STREET AWARDS | WOODLAWN | 15TH ANNIVERSARY Founder of the Natural Hair Care Expo continues to champion Black beauty, self-love, and cultural empowerment (WOODLAWN – May 28, 2026) – There are certain queens who, when they move, all you can do is stop and pay homage because you know it’s a queen. Malaika-Tamu Cooper been doin’ it gracefully for years. My ex-wife and daughter used to go to her shop in the Junction. Like another popular Black Wall Street WOODLAWN honoree, Randy Dennis, Malaika has too made a lasting impression on Baltimore and beyond with her…
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Attorney Bana discusses her advocacy, challenges against Baltimore Gas & Electric. Welcome to Doni Glover Media — Powered … Watch full video on YouTube
(BALTIMORE – May 27, 2026) – This is what I’m talking about when I say we live in a two-tiered system. Dalya Attar is currently facing federal blackmail and extortion charges, along with her brother and a former Baltimore police officer, whom she also allegedly used in her plot to weaponize a sex tape of her former campaign consultant. Reading through the charges really makes me feel like I’m watching the movie Enemy of the State. She should have stepped down as soon as this indictment was made public. Instead, she ran for reelection to the Maryland state Senate. Rather than…
Black Wall Street WASHINGTON, DC Joe Manns Black Wall Street Awards — 15th Anniversary Homecoming Washington, D.C. | Tuesday, June 16, 2026 | 6:00 PM RSVP: blackwallstreetdc.eventbrite.com Ron Busby, Sr.: The National Voice of Black Business Black Wall Street WASHINGTON, DC Honoree | President & CEO, U.S. Black Chambers, Inc. WASHINGTON, D.C. — Some people you meet and quickly forget. And then there are those rare individuals who leave a mark every single time you cross paths. Ron Busby, Sr., is that kind of man. I first met Ron through a mutual friend, the late Mr. Michael Graham — a…
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