NBA Legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson will be in Houston for the Texas Black Expo Corporate Awards Luncheon honoring local business leaders, taking place during the annual Summer Celebration, May 18-21, 2023 at the George R. Brown Convention Center.
This year marks TBE’s 20th anniversary of serving the Black business community in Houston and throughout the state of Texas.
TBE President Jerome Love says Johnson, who is one of the most successful and respected entrepreneurs in the world, is the perfect person to kick off the conference, which has the theme of “BOOM: Building Our Own Marketplace.”
“BOOM stands for building our own marketplace. And when you look at Magic Johnson’s life, his businesses, how he builds Starbucks, theaters and gyms in our communities, that’s what he’s doing. That’s his foundation. I don’t know all of his philanthropic efforts, but I know he has invested millions back in the community and provided so many jobs. So, he’s the epitome of an entrepreneur that’s building our community,” Love said.
The Corporate Awards luncheon will take place at the Marriott Marquis on May 19 at noon.
“We know people will leave the luncheon with greater insight and motivation to achieve their own goals after hearing Magic speak,” Love added.
The Texas Black Expo draws thousands of attendees to Houston each year to experience an abundance of activities, workshops, shopping, giveaways and entertainment. The Summer Celebration has something for the entire family including the Kids Adventure Zone with STEM and Robotics components, a bouncy house, face painting, games, the ever-popular Diva Dialogue panel discussion, and a line-dancing competition for seniors.
In addition, the Expo will also include a health and wellness pavilion, a beauty extravaganza, empowerment workshops, a kids and teen talent competition, live entertainment and author showcase.
“It has been our immense honor and pleasure to have served the people of Texas for 20 years through the Texas Black Expo,” Love said. “This event has become a staple in the local and regional business communities, with our vendors coming back year after year. Now that we’re able to gather again in-person since the pandemic, we’re looking forward to continuing to support small business owners, youth and the community at large.”
The Texas Black Expo was founded on the mission of bettering the community and offering an opportunity for African Americans to find success as business leaders. Through its year-round programming, TBE has committed to building resilient businesses in the community, and helping small companies and organizations attain fundamental entrepreneurial structure needed to gain market shares against their competitors. Texas Black Expo helps to build strong families, positively impact businesses and increase the value of economic growth in Texas.
“When I started out, I didn’t know what I was doing,” Love said. “All I knew is that I wanted our community, our businesses, to have the same opportunities and economic advancement as other communities. And to see where we were then and where we are now – the support of the entire city, a lot of the states coming in, it’s just amazing to see God’s favor and all the amazing people in the city of Houston and across the state that helped to make this possible.”
For more information, visit www.texasblackexpo.com.
