LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The NULU Board of Directors is convening a new diversity and inclusion committee to remedy its lack of black-owned businesses and employment in the area. The committee will be led by a black business member of the NULU Business Association and will sit on the Board of Directors. 

“It is our intention to add member and non-member individuals to that committee who can add value to its mission,” says NULU Business Association Board President Rick Murphy. “We also plan to interact with black civic and religious organizations that will help us accomplish our goals.”

Individual member stakeholders in the Association have pledged $20,000 to launch an inclusivity incubator program within the Association, managed by the newly formed committee. The goal of the program is to attract and assist black-owned business start-ups with a business plan, entity creation, and applications for funding.

Planning for the new committee began earlier last month, however, the Board believes the committee addresses recent concerns and demands brought to the area by Black Lives Matter protesters July 24 as well as documents sent via email to NULU business owners this week.

“Clearly the requirements, asked for in those documents, would not be financially or physically possible for the majority of small business owners,” said Murphy. “Many businesses are already struggling to keep their doors open following years of lost business from the closing of the Convention Center and now Covid-19.”

The Board will also host occasional Roundtable discussions with civic leaders, including NULU's Metro Council representative. The Business Association said it will demand that new developments follow "Do No Harm" policies to prevent residential and business displacement and disenfranchisement. 

"The NULU Business Association’s mission is to support and assist our members while applying fairness and social justice in all our actions," read a press release from NULU. "NULU desires to be a model of anti-racist policy, inclusivity, sustainability, diversity, and equity as a business community."