I greet you on behalf of our Board of Directors, Members, Allies and in the spirit of our Founders.

Over the last few weeks, our country has come face to face with the ugliness of racism, police brutality, and semantic injustice. Demonstrations, peaceful protests and civil unrest have taken place in ALL 50 states and around the World. NCBMP Board, members and partners applaud the hospitality and events industry associations, corporations issuing statements to their employees, constituents and customers denouncing racism and injustice of any kind in their organizations and throughout society. While NCBMP applauds organizations and companies that have taken a stance and are standing in solidarity, we have also kept note of those who have remained silent. Your silence is loud and deafening.

In 1983, our founders assembled, organized and created a platform that spoke to the inequities, disparities and exclusion of African-Americans within the industry before the word diversity was popular. They chose to speak up for collective empowerment and blazed the trail for what is known as the diversity market. Many of the organizations that are represented by NCBMP members were founded as an answer to the economic, political, social, religious and educational injustices of this nation. Frankly, many have increased the profile of many cities in their time of despair, set record revenue number within hotels, contributed to legislative policies that have changed the country and produced some of the best talent in the industry. For the last 37 years NCBMP has trained some of our industry's best professionals and has vowed to "do business with our friends". The creed of our organization must stand the test of time. Our mission must not lose its integrity. The moral conscious of our industry is at a crossroads.

NCBMP is open to partnering and aligning with organizations that value humanity, racial justice and specifically, the lives of Black people. NCBMP has made a conscious decision to sever our relationship with a premier meeting organization that has chosen not to publicly state its position on the appreciation and support of Black hospitality professionals. Despite heart-to-heart conversations, it appears the business as usual is the sole focus. We can no longer allow meeting organizations and those that support them to stand on the sideline in this moment in history, particularly when a large percentage of their attendees are Black. Nor can we align with organizations that support those who are silent. We have chosen not to list the name of the company at this time and will continue having respectful dialogue in the pursuit of changing of the heart of the ownership.

The act of silence goes against the very principles of our beloved Coalition. One of the most recent Nielsen reports states that Black consumers will spend $1.3 trillion with brands that are loyal and socially responsible. We will continue to ask the tough questions and report out where brands stand so that our community is clear.

We do business with our friends and one's silence jeopardizes our relationship.

We are asking our friends to align with us by doing the following:

Take inventory of the meetings organizations that have not publicly denounced racism.

Before registering for conferences, events and educational programs, ask for the following:

Before investing financial support or offering concessions, ask the following:

We appreciate your continued friendship and will continue to be a positive voice within the industry. Should you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at info@ncbmp.com.

Be Empowered,

Jason Dunn

NCBMP Chairman