The AFRO American Newspapers is one of the 2023 Inner City 100 Award Winners. The annual awards honor 100 fastest growing businesses in underserved communities. (Photo courtesy of IC100)

By Nick Jones,
Abel Communications

The AFRO was named a winner of the 2023 Inner City 100 Awards, an annual designation by the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (“ICIC”). The IC100 recognizes the 100 fastest growing businesses in underserved communities nationwide.  

AFRO leadership will accept the honor at the 2023 ICIC Annual Conference in Miami where the company’s official IC100 ranking will be revealed. 

Through the IC100 awards and other events, the ICIC “brings together small business owners, economic development practitioners, thought leaders, major corporate stakeholders, policymakers, and community partners to reinforce growth strategies and build solidarity with BIPOC-, woman-, and other diverse-owned entrepreneurs across the U.S. and Canada.”

“We are thrilled to receive this distinction alongside 99 other deserving businesses, and we look forward to celebrating this tremendous honor together,” said Dr. Frances “Toni” Draper, CEO and publisher of the AFRO. “The AFRO means more than just newspapers, and we are proud to see our work recognized from the digitized AFRO archives, to the Digital Billboard Network, and our growing slate of digital programming. This recognition demonstrates our continued evolution as innovative storytellers.”

Additional recognition at the 2023 conference will include the to-be-announced IC100 special award winners, for which the AFRO is eligible. These special awards are: the Business Growth Award, the Chevron Dorothy A. Terrell Community Impact Award, and the FedEx Champion of Global Entrepreneurship.

The event will be held at the Hyatt Regency Miami, and conference tickets can be purchased at https://bit.ly/ICICAnCon. 

To learn more about the AFRO and its award-winning storytelling, visit: https://afro.com. 

About the AFRO

The AFRO is the oldest Black-owned business in D.C., Maryland and Virginia, and the third-oldest in the United States. For over 130 years, the AFRO has offered a platform for images and stories that advance the Black community, fulfilling the vision of John H. Murphy Sr., a formerly enslaved man who founded the publication with his wife, Martha Howard Murphy. Today, through the leadership of Murphy’s great-granddaughter, Dr. Frances “Toni” Draper, the AFRO remains the Black Media Authority, providing readers with good news about the Black community not otherwise found.

About ICIC

Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) is the widely recognized authority on accelerating small business growth in under-resourced communities. ICIC drives inclusive economic prosperity through focused technical assistance and world-class research. Founded by

renowned Harvard Business School professor Michael Porter in 1994 as a research and strategy organization, today ICIC drives inclusive economic prosperity in under-resourced communities through innovative research and programs to create jobs, income, and wealth for local residents.

Media Contact
Nick Jones
Abel Communications for the AFRO
nick@abelcommunications.com

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