BMWorldwide — Oakland–The first music to play on the patio overlooking the Fox Theater was Marvin Gaye, but the setting was strictly James Brown.

Oaksop’s Trevor Parham could fit the lyrics of many songs as he described the path from a single 4,000 foot space for Black artists and creators to 80,000 square feet across six buildings in downtown Oakland with 25 employees.

In the midst of the pandemic, Parham began the Oakland Black Business Fund, giving grants to more than 200 businesses.  As we sat in a reception for BLKVC Thursday night, he said the long road through self-relinace was the right road.

Hear the full interview with this difference maker keeping Black business front and center in Oakland during How to Do Equity Saturday, June 4 along with Derek Peterson, creator of HireUS, a recruitment service which addresses the significant barriers for African-Americans in the worlplace.