(WASHINGTON. DC – June 16, 2026) – It all started in Washington, DC.
Fifteen years ago, the Joe Manns Black Wall Street Awards launched what would become a national movement right here in the nation’s capital. There was no better place to begin.
Washington is an international, political, and historic city. But for generations of Black people, it has been known by another name: Chocolate City.
Mention DC, and certain names immediately come to mind. Chief among them is Mayor for Life, Marion Barry.
Ask any true Washingtonian who their favorite mayor is, and chances are you’ll hear the same answer.
“Marion Barry.”
Spend enough time in the District, and you’ll hear another familiar refrain:
“Marion Barry got me my first job.”
Not once. Not twice. Thousands of times.
Because Marion Barry represented something bigger than politics. He represented access. Opportunity. Hope. He represented the belief that government should work for the people who needed it most.
And the people loved him for it.
Marion Barry wasn’t born in Washington. He was born in Itta Bena, Mississippi. But Washington, DC, became his city, and through his leadership, he showed Black communities across America what it looked like to embrace a leader who returned their embrace.
That kind of love cannot be measured.
It can only be multiplied.
If you know DC, you know there is a certain energy to Southeast.
The rest of the country sees monuments, museums, and federal buildings. Washingtonians see neighborhoods.
Anacostia.
Barry Farms.
Benning Road.
Ward 7.
Ward 8.
Communities that have produced leaders, entrepreneurs, activists, artists, athletes, and everyday people who have carried entire families and neighborhoods on their backs.
It’s the same energy Brooklyn brings to New York.
The same energy Sandtown brings to Baltimore.
Communities forged by struggle often produce extraordinary people because the challenges are extraordinary.
And that’s why it felt right for Black Wall Street to return home.
Fifteen years after the first ceremony.
Three thousand honorees later.
Nine cities later.
We came back to Southeast.
And it did not disappoint.
This year’s honorees represent the very best of us — people who understand that success means little if it is not shared. People who understand that leadership is service. People who understand that you get by giving.
This evening is a celebration of achievement, but it is also a celebration of responsibility.
The responsibility to lift as we climb.
To mentor.
To build.
To invest.
To leave communities stronger than we found them.
That’s what Black Wall Street has always been about.
And that’s why this moment feels so special.
Because in many ways, it is a full circle.
What began in Washington, D.C., fifteen years ago has now grown into a movement that has honored more than 3,000 individuals across nine cities throughout America.
Yet the heartbeat remains the same.
Community.
Service.
Excellence.
Legacy.
And nowhere are those values more deeply rooted than in Chocolate City.
SPECIAL THANKS
None of this happens without Vaughan Lee.
For years, Vaughan has helped carry the Black Wall Street Awards across the country, helping expand the movement into cities such as Mobile, Alabama, Las Vegas, and Tulsa.
Along the way, some of the most notable honorees in Black Wall Street Awards history have been recognized through those efforts, including D.L. Hughley, Marion Barry, and Raheem DeVaughn.
His commitment to this work has helped transform a local program into a national institution.
We are equally grateful to the sponsors and supporters who have stood beside us year after year, city after city, helping make this vision possible.
Special thanks to Thomas Hardnett, Sanjay Thomas, R.E. Harrington, and Vennieth McCormick.
Their support, along with that of countless others, has helped sustain this work for fifteen consecutive years.
Black Wall Street isn’t a moment.
It’s a movement.
And fifteen years later, it remains rooted in the same place where it all began.
Washington, DC.
Chocolate City.
Home.
THE HONOREES
What makes Black Wall Street special isn’t the venue, the city, or even the longevity of the movement.
It’s the people.
The men and women recognized each year are builders. Some build businesses. Some build communities. Some build institutions. Some build hope.
This year’s Black Wall Street DC honorees represent all of the above.
RHONDA HAMILTON
Rhonda Hamilton is the kind of leader who shows up with keys in hand instead of empty promises.
As the newly elected Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner (ANC) for Southwest DC and a member of the DC Housing Authority Board, Hamilton understands that public service is measured by results, not rhetoric.
When Mama’s Safe Haven needed housing for women in crisis, Rhonda didn’t offer sympathy. She offered solutions — securing two fully furnished three-bedroom apartments at no cost to the organization.
And she hasn’t stopped there.
She continues working to connect the organization with sustainable funding and long-term partnerships that can help transform lives for years to come.
In an era where many talk about housing, Rhonda Hamilton is helping provide it.
ISADORE WILLIAMS
Long before youth entrepreneurship became fashionable, Isadore Williams was already teaching it.
A lifelong entrepreneur from Southeast Washington, Williams has spent decades mentoring young people, teaching them the value of hard work, salesmanship, and self-reliance.
Among those students was Beverly Smith, founder of Mama’s Safe Haven, who remembers learning the fundamentals of business from Williams as a young girl selling candy throughout the community.
Today, his mission remains unchanged.
Same neighborhoods.
Same commitment.
Same belief that every child deserves an opportunity to learn how to create wealth rather than simply consume it.
DR. KEVIN THEODORE HART, SR.
Faith without works is dead.
Dr. Kevin Theodore Hart, Sr. has spent his life proving the opposite.
Installed as Senior Pastor of Christian Tabernacle Church of God in 2011, Dr. Hart has built a ministry that extends far beyond Sunday mornings.
As Executive Director of The Love First Child Development Center and President of Pick Up the Pieces, he has dedicated his life to helping individuals and families often overlooked by society.
His commitment to Mama’s Safe Haven is deeply personal and consistent. Through monthly financial support, donations of supplies, and hands-on engagement, he has helped sustain the organization during some of its most challenging periods.
His philosophy is simple:
“Love first and ask questions later.”
And he lives it every day.
RON BUSBY, SR.
Few individuals have done more to advance Black business nationally than Ron Busby, Sr.
As President and CEO of the U.S. Black Chambers, Inc., Busby leads a network representing more than 300,000 Black-owned businesses across the United States and around the world.
His own entrepreneurial journey began with USA Superclean, a company he grew from $150,000 in annual revenue to $15 million.
Today, his influence reaches boardrooms, chambers of commerce, federal agencies, and the White House itself.
Ron Busby has spent his career proving that Black business is not merely surviving.
It is thriving.
And it is global.
BERNARD STEPHENS
Bernard Stephens understands reinvention.
A former professional baseball player in the Kansas City Royals organization, Stephens transitioned from athletics to engineering, eventually building a distinguished career in construction and development.
Today, as Founder and CEO of Blackrock Development Management, he oversees projects that are reshaping communities throughout the Washington metropolitan region.
His journey from pitcher to developer reflects the very spirit of Black Wall Street: vision, discipline, and perseverance.
JAMES TYNER
Every great development project requires behind-the-scenes leadership.
James Tyner provides exactly that.
As President of Operations for Blackrock Development Management, Tyner brings more than sixteen years of experience in engineering, construction, and project management.
A graduate of Tennessee State University, he has helped oversee complex projects throughout the region while ensuring that plans become reality.
His work reminds us that communities are not built through ideas alone.
They are built through execution.
Brick by brick.
Project by project.
Day by day.
Together, these honorees represent the very essence of Black Wall Street.
They are entrepreneurs.
Faith leaders.
Builders.
Mentors.
Public servants.
Community advocates.
Most importantly, they are examples of what happens when success is paired with service.
And that is exactly what Black Wall Street has celebrated for fifteen years.
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