Black business pioneers inducted into inaugural Minnesota Black Business Hall of Fame

“Wonderful,” declared Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder CEO and Publisher Tracey Williams-Dillard when asked how she felt walking into the Minnesota Black Chamber of Commerce’s 2026 gala, “Renaissance Reimagined: Where Culture Meets Commerce.”

“I’m so blessed to be here with all these beautiful, smiling people. Everyone dressed to the nines. Just so happy. Good times.”

“Plus,” added Michael Diehl, whom Williams-Dillard would later shout out from the stage as her “rock,” “being here with Tracey means I’m with the most beautiful woman in the room. A supreme queen.”

For Williams-Dillard, one of the honorees inducted into the inaugural class of the MBCC’s Minnesota Black Business Hall of Fame Saturday, Aug. 8, it had already been quite a day.

In late 2019, the city of Minneapolis adopted a resolution honoring two South Minneapolis icons, Clarissa Rogers Walker and Launa Q. Newman, by renaming streets after each of them along the city’s 38th Street corridor. But the COVID-19 pandemic prevented any official ceremony from taking place.

So earlier that Saturday, at Sabathani Community Center’s 60th anniversary block party, Williams-Dillard helped the community dedicate a six-block stretch of 4th Avenue South after her grandmother and MSR royalty as “Launa Q. Newman Way.” The same distance along 3rd Avenue South was celebrated as “Clarissa Rogers Walker Way.”

A night to remember

The Saint Paul InterContinental Riverfront’s Great River Ballroom hosted the MBCC gala, the first under CEO Yolanda Pierson, who took the role at the start of 2026.

Pierson said many have asked her, “Why this? Why now,” regarding her decision to establish the Hall of Fame.

“It’s because history can’t wait,” she recently told MSR. “The legacies that have been built by pioneers like these have gone unnoticed for far too long. We wanted to give them their flowers while they’re still here, and make sure their stories are remembered.”

Emmy Award-winning KSTP news anchor Brandi Powell served as mistress of ceremonies for the nearly four-hour program, attended by officials including Minneapolis Council Member LaTrisha Vetaw and state Rep. Cedrick Frazier.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota’s senior U.S. senator and a 2026 gubernatorial candidate, shared a video message praising the MBCC, adding that “nobody embodies that strength more than this inaugural class.”

The MBCC also presented three other awards: the Economic Impact Award to Huntington National Bank, accepted by Vice President Marcio Thompson; the 10,000 Black Business Program honor to Timothy Floyd; and the Black Business Excellence Award to Elizer Darris.

“Tracey! Where are you, girl?”

Minneapolis-based Kelz Music provided entertainment, and Karen Sorbo hosted a live auction featuring a Minnesota Lynx VIP experience, a world traveler excursion, and a Minnesota State Fair concert package tied to the Aug. 29 “Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis Homecoming: A Celebration of the Minneapolis Sound, produced by yet another of the evening’s honorees, Sharon Smith-Akinsanya, and her All About the Culture initiative.

Jam and Lewis, in town promoting their homecoming concert, visited MSR headquarters that Friday for Williams-Dillard’s “Tracey’s Keepin’ It Real” podcast, discussing their Twin Cities roots, the Prince-and-The Time rivalry, and their legacy with Flyte Tyme Productions and Perspective Records.

Powell later invited the duo to the gala stage, where they acknowledged the MBCC’s community role and shouted out their “sister” Williams-Dillard. In one of the night’s most amusing moments, Lewis searched the dimly lit room for her.

“Tracey, where are you, girl? Stand up,” he said. Lewis eventually spotted her dazzling ensemble as she waved from the middle of the room, drawing laughs and cheers, before Jam, a Washburn High School classmate of Williams-Dillard’s, added, “We had so much fun on your podcast yesterday, Tracey. Thank you so much.”

The crowd cheered again as Jam and Lewis exited dancing “The Bird” while the house band covered The Time’s 1985 hit of the same name.

“The launchpad for your future”

The night’s main event came at the end. Alongside Williams-Dillard and Smith-Akinsanya, the inaugural Hall of Fame class included Gloria Freeman, Lea Harget, Frederick Blockton, Frank Brown, Frederic Estes, Ezell Jones and Prince Wallace, with Candice Ellis and Richard Copeland inducted posthumously.

A little after 10 p.m., Williams-Dillard took the stage to accept her award.

“My journey with the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder began when I was just 8 years old, standing behind an old addressograph machine under the watchful eye of my grandmother, Launa Q. Newman,” she said. “That machine not only taught me responsibility and the concept of work ethic; it introduced me to the heartbeat of the Black press.”

She also honored her grandfather, Cecil E. Newman, whose vision “started the MSR,” and her late mother, Norma Jean Williams, who instilled in her “an entrepreneurial spirit and the importance of empowering women and girls,” inspiring programs like Sister Spokesman. She thanked Diehl and her daughter, Leticia Alvarez, telling her, “You are my pride and joy.”

Williams-Dillard closed with a message to the next generation of business leaders.

“Your history is not a weight to carry; it is the launchpad for your future,” she said. “Embrace every detour in your journey because no experience is ever wasted. Lead with unwavering integrity, honor the roots of the community that built you, and don’t be afraid to fail. I once heard someone define success as building something that outlasts you. And legacy is making sure people are better because you built it.”

Presented by Wells Fargo, community sponsors of the MBCC gala were Blue Cross Blue Shield Minnesota, Cargill, Huntington Bank and the Rae Mackenzie Group. Entrepreneur sponsors include Andersen Windows & Doors, Children’s Minnesota, Cummins, First Independence Bank, Ramsey County, U.S. Bank and Xcel Energy.

Tony Kiene is the executive assistant and contributing writer for the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder. He welcomes reader responses at tkiene@spokesman-recorder.com.