At the Virginia Black Expo, Mayor Derrick Wood reflects on why access, participation and ownership must work together to create real economic mobility.

Get in the Room. Then Build Something You Own.

By Derrick R. Wood

More than 7,000 people registered for the sixth annual Virginia Black Expo in Richmond.

The event brought together entrepreneurs, business owners, public officials, community leaders, artists, activists, and nationally recognized voices around business, culture, health, wealth, leadership, and opportunity.

Thousands of people had already taken an important first step:

They showed up.

My challenge was to make sure they did not stop there.

I joined Virginia State Senator Angelia Williams Graves for a Black Table Talk conversation moderated by Lisa P. Grant. My portion of the discussion focused on local government as the front line — what communities can do now to create jobs, attract investment, strengthen local economies, and make sure opportunity actually reaches the people who live there.

Near the end of the conversation, I asked the audience to repeat two words:

“Show up.”

Then again.

“Show up.”

And one more time.

“Show up.”

By the third time, I was not talking about attendance.

I was talking about power.

Your Voice Is Strongest Before the Decision

I told the audience that I regularly sit in council meetings where decisions are being made about development, public safety, budgets, transportation, housing, and economic opportunity.

Too often, I can count on one hand the number of people in those rooms who look like many of the people I was speaking to that day.

Then a decision gets made that people do not like.

A project moves forward.

A policy changes.

Money gets spent differently than someone expected.

And suddenly the question becomes:

How did this happen?

Sometimes the better question is:

Where were we while it was happening?

This is not an argument against criticism or accountability.

It is a reminder that your voice often has more power before the decision than after it.

Attend the meeting.

Read the agenda.

Ask the question.

Join the commission.

Build relationships.

Understand the process while the outcome can still be influenced.

You cannot influence a room you never enter.

Access Is the Beginning

That same lesson applies to business.

I came to the Expo with two perspectives: as Mayor of Dumfries and as an entrepreneur who understands what it means to build something from the ground up.

Both experiences have taught me that opportunity does not move through talent alone.

It also moves through relationships, information, trust, visibility, and timing.

You need to know where capital is moving, where contracts are being discussed, where partnerships are forming, and where decisions are taking shape.

So yes, get in the room.

But do not stop there.

A Seat at the Table Matters. Ownership Changes the Economics.

For generations, we have rightly fought for a seat at the table.

Representation matters.

Voice matters.

Influence matters.

But if we are serious about economic mobility, we also have to ask:

Who owns the table?

Who owns the business receiving the contract, the property being developed, the technology being created, and the companies producing the jobs?

A seat gives you a voice.

Ownership changes who captures the value.

Being included in someone else’s opportunity is not the same as having the capacity to create opportunity yourself.

Growth Has to Reach the People Already There

I have seen this firsthand in Dumfries.

I want investment.

I want new employers.

I want development.

I want our tax base to grow.

But growth alone does not tell us whether a community is succeeding.

We also have to ask:

Are household incomes rising?

Are local entrepreneurs and residents participating in the opportunities being created?

Can existing residents grow with their community instead of being priced out of its success?

That is the difference between economic growth and economic mobility.

Economic development is incomplete if growth happens around people instead of through them.

That does not mean rejecting outside investment.

Strong communities need capital, employers, developers, and new ideas.

The stronger model is outside investment plus local participation.

When development comes, we should not ask only:

What is being built?

We should also ask:

Who gets to participate in the value being created?

Access Without Capacity Is Not Enough

Opening the door is not enough if people are not prepared to walk through it.

Entrepreneurs need capital, customers, contracts, networks, mentorship, and the knowledge required to scale.

Residents need preparation for tomorrow’s jobs before tomorrow arrives.

If a major employer or new industry is coming, workforce development should begin before the ribbon cutting — not after it.

My belief is simple:

Access gets you in the room. Capacity lets you stay there. Ownership lets you build wealth from it.

From Overlooked to Ownership

Being overlooked does not mean there is no value there.

Sometimes the talent already exists.

The business already exists.

The idea already exists.

What is missing is visibility, access, or connection.

But being seen cannot be the final destination either.

The goal is to move from being overlooked to being connected, from being connected to participating, and from participating to owning something that creates value.

That can be a business.

A property.

A brand.

A contract.

An institution.

Something that gives the next generation a stronger starting point.

Show Up

That is why I asked the audience to say it three times.

Show up.

Show up before you need something.

Show up while decisions are still being shaped.

Show up where relationships are being built and opportunities are moving.

Listen.

Learn.

Ask questions.

Build relationships.

Develop the capacity to compete.

Then build something you can own.

Because the goal cannot simply be to get invited into the economy.

The goal should be to have the power to help shape it.