USA
For her sustained activism and her hard-hitting speeches, the CEO of The Empowerment Experiment Foundation Maggie, was chosen by BET and Centric TV as one of “The Most Fascinating Women of 2016”.
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Inspired by the election of President Obama, and drawing on her experience as Congressman John Lewis’ aide, President Obama’s law student, and a corporate executive serving McDonald’s Corporation first and only Black CEO, Maggie Anderson publicly pledged to exclusively support Black owned businesses for a whole year to prove the power of Buying Black.
Her family was threatened, there was no Black owned grocery store, and her mother was dying of pancreatic cancer the entire time. Her history-making stand AKA ‘The Empowerment Experiment’ resulted in tens of millions in revenue for Black owned businesses and deposits into Black owned banks; global media coverage; her critically acclaimed book; and a landmark study, conducted by the Kellogg Graduate School of Management, that proved 1 million jobs could be created if these businesses received a small increase in support.
Since taking her stand, Maggie has given thousands of speeches and interviews hosted by the most respected corporations, universities, trade/ professional/ faith/ civic and rights institutions, and media. Millions have shed tears while taking notes as she teaches the victorious yet violent history of Black owned businesses and Black economic unity; preaches about economic justice and empowerment; and shares The Empowerment Experiment, and how it has since changed and ‘saved’ her life, effectively curing her muscular dystrophy.
Maggie continues to receive numerous honors, proclamations and awards from the most elite and iconic civic and professional organizations, universities, corporations, municipalities and rights groups such as the National Bar Association, the National Association of Real Estate Brokers, Harvard University, New York Life, and many more.
See keynotes with Maggie AndersonWhen Maggie speaks and lectures about Our Black Year, she offers a story and hard-earned wisdom that no one else can. She draws from the unsung story and success of Black owned businesses and neighborhoods in America; Dr. Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement, and how Black entrepreneurship, economic solidarity, and business success helped both; presents the lessons learned from her ancestors’ and her family’s buy Black stands.
She delivers an inspirational and intelligent message about the possibility and promise of homespun economic empowerment in America, the business case and job-creating, racism-countering, community-empowering opportunity of supplier diversity and proactively, publicly, collectively supporting locally-owned businesses; and teaches the specific cultural, societal and economic importance of successful Black owned banks and businesses, and the fundamental inclusion of and investment in Black owned businesses by the government, Corporate, and university/nonprofit sectors for countering structural racism and improving the American economy.
Her areas of expertise: race and the economy, Black business/economic history, minority entrepreneurship, consumerism, economic empowerment, buying local/ buying Black/ buying American, economic activism, supplier diversity, self–help economics, corporate – community reciprocity and partnership.
No one can testify to your supplier/business D&I commitment and promote your Black MBEs to the community better than Maggie Anderson. That’s why so many Diversity execs have her speak and why she’s keynoted so many NMSDC events.
Maggie presented at American Express's Black History Month event to support Black owned businesses. She captivated our audience from sharing facts about Black history to expressing the trials that she encountered during her "Black Year". We were all moved and wanted to do more to support the Black community.
Maggie Anderson was our keynote speaker for our annual MLK Week. She gave a wonderful speech a few years ago that the faculty, students, and local community are still discussing! She inspires both with her words and her actions.
Maggie helped us to draw our largest crowd ever for a Black History Month event at Rutgers Business School. She inspired us all to reflect and to act.
Maggie is both an engaging and inspirational speaker. Her conversation was tailored to our Company and teammates. And months after the fact, we still receive complimentary comments asking if we can find more speakers like her. I’m not surprised because I heard her speak in person years ago. But the COVID-limited, virtual Maggie was just as impressive!
It is no exaggeration to say that Maggie Anderson was the greatest speaker we've ever had in the 15 years of our leadership conference. Smart and engaging, provocative and challenging, there is only one Maggie Anderson.
What a powerful virtual presentation! The chat was on fire. Her passion was appropriate and had everyone excited and now determined to Buy Black. We asked participants for a list of Black vendors and we are putting together a list that we will use later.
Maggie is truly the best! Such a powerful speaker! She was the perfect choice to keynote Tuskegee University's 25th Annual Economic Development Summit. So many participants said that she was an inspiration! She was passionate, charming, inviting, and funny. Moreover, she left a lasting impression after. Her passionate and provocative speech inspired a lot of hope and action for the Black Community here. Indeed, truly refreshing for such trying times!
She's amazing, she was strong and she was thoughtful. We are grateful to Maggie for giving us – and our community – so much of herself. It made an impact and I hope she felt all the love in the room.
It was an incredible presentation. The way Maggie personalized her speech and gave it such passion was very memorable. I appreciate all of the time and energy she put into making our MLK Commemoration a successful event. We are glad to have been able to host her at Jenner! It was a pleasure working with her!
I was and will be forever in awe of Maggie’s strength, passion, integrity, and intelligence. This company is behind her in both her personal fight against cancer and her one on economic justice. We are so beyond grateful for her vulnerability and radiance, as well as her ability to motivate and enroll everyone around her to stay strong and make this country a better place for Black Americans.
Maggie has keynoted several events presented by our bank. Maggie has made it clear that our racial equity, and of course, our economic parity depend on our dedication to the principles and dedication she has written and spoken about and demonstrated in her everyday life.
Maggie's speech at our signature bi-annual event was so powerful. Her years of experience, research, and depth of understanding of Black history, and how to advise and grow Black-owned business owners certainly resonated with everyone in the room. I can speak for everyone in attendance when I say that she left us mesmerized and with quantifiable actions we can all take to be better for our community.
Maggie is the perfect and the most powerful orator for this important message. She has spoken at many USBC events, locally and our national conventions. Because of her speaking and stand, the mission is still here and relevant. She set a precedent. So enthused by her efforts and motivated by her challenges, we created our ByBlack.us platform, a revolutionary service making it easier to find businesses locally and at mainstream retailers. That had to do with her vision to launch The Empowerment Experiment and write Our Black Year over a decade ago, when no one wanted to talk about Buying Black.
The centuries-old Black business ecosystem faded away with integration, but today, its renaissance could benefit the entire country orrified by the brutal murder of an unarmed Black man by white police officers, and alert to how the Covid pandemic disproportionately devastated Black businesses, white and corporate America were quick to latch on to the Buy Black movement in […]
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