Black Business Leaders Hall of Fame Event Will Honor Black Entrepreneurs in Los Angeles

Event hosted by the Hart Leadership Center and City National Bank

LOS ANGELES – City National Bank, America’s Premier Private and Business Bank®, today announced that it will host the second annual “Black Business Leaders Hall of Fame” event on September 26 with the Hart Leadership Center. The event will celebrate and honor entrepreneurs and their businesses within the Black community of Los Angeles.

“City National is so proud to help honor and celebrate successful Black entrepreneurs and leaders in Los Angeles,’ said Karen A. Clark, multicultural strategy manager with City National Bank. “These important entrepreneurs have helped shape the City of Los Angeles. City National and its colleagues are deeply committed to supporting business leaders and entrepreneurs on the way up.”

“We launched this unique, breakthrough event with the mission of honoring and recognizing great Black business leaders for their efforts and the impact being made, and felt, in the community,” said Ed Hart, president of the Hart Leadership Center and co-founder of the Hart Leadership Foundation. “We are also pleased to announce that all proceeds from this event will be donated to a local school district to supplement the out-of-pocket expenses our school teachers spend for materials, books and lesson plans for their students.”

Launched in 2016, this is the second Black Business Leaders Hall of Fame. It will feature a conversation with Reginald Hudlin, a pioneer of the Black film movement who was an executive producer and writer of the television series “Black Panther” and an executive producer of “The Boondocks.” He was also nominated for a Best Picture Oscar as one of the producers of “Django Unchained.” The event will also feature Wren T. Brown, a fourth-generation Angeleno and actor, producer and director who has dozens of film, television and theatre credits. He founded the award-winning Ebony Repertory Theatre, the first and only African American professional theatre company in Los Angeles. The emcee is Pat Prescott, morning show host for smooth jazz the Wave, 94.7 FM radio.

Hall of Fame categories are:

• The Excellence in Community & Philanthropy category honors businesses that have demonstrated concern for the community above and beyond their own self-preservation.
• The Perseverance & Sustainability category honors businesses that have demonstrated tenacity, strength and determination to continue moving forward in the face of life and business adversities.
• The Biddy Mason Business of the Year category honors businesses that have demonstrated excellence through exceptional financial returns, strong growth, innovative strategies and market leadership.
• The Ruby Bridges Pioneer in Education category honors businesses that have promoted innovative strategies in education.
• The Entertainment, Innovation & Technology category honors businesses for their excellence in providing services or products in innovative ways.
• The Entrepreneurial Rising Stars category honors young entrepreneurs who have demonstrated hard work and determination as they pursue success.

The event will take place at the University of Southern California’s Bovard Auditorium, located at

3551 Trousdale Pkwy, Los Angeles, CA 90089, on September 26 at 5:30 p.m.

About the Hart Leadership Center Foundation

The mission of the Hart Leadership Center Foundation is to honor and recognize current great leaders, and to invest in the development of the leaders of the future. They do this through a series of hall of fame events, leadership development programs, one-on-one coaching, and through educating the next generation of leaders. They partner with great companies, organizations, and individuals to create opportunity where it otherwise might not have existed.