The Black-Owned Media Equity & Sustainability Institute is five years in and showing no signs of slowing down. BOMESI wrapped its 5th Annual Summit earlier this month in Detroit, Michigan, bringing together 141 attendees representing 125 organizations across media, advertising, entertainment, and business.
Founded in 2020 by DéVon Christopher Johnson and Rhonesha Byng, and inspired by the spirit of Juneteenth, with the organization celebrating its 6th anniversary on June 20, BOMESI has grown into the premier gathering for diverse-owned media professionals serious about building sustainable, scalable companies.
This year’s summit generated an estimated 6.5 billion in ad reach potential across participating organizations.
Hosted by NAACP Image Award–winning entertainer Dustin Ross and Quartz Wellness Collective Founder Amber Lee Forrester, the four-day convening packed 26 sessions and activations into its programming, featuring 53-plus speakers anchored by a keynote address from Jason Harvey of BET+ and an opening fireside chat with Jemele Hill.
Themes across the summit reflected where the media industry is right now, and where it needs to go. Programming tracks covered AI and publishing transformation, revenue growth and multi-platform strategy, video distribution and streaming, podcast infrastructure and capital, and the collective power of Black media owners. With 60% of attendees representing diverse-owned media outlets and independent creators, the room was full of the people those conversations matter most to.The summit also recognized those moving the needle. Justin Barton of AdGrid/Snackable received the Growth Catalyst Award, Munson Steed, founder of Rolling Out, was honored with the Digital Trailblazer Award, and Ben & Jerry’s took home the Champion for Equity Award, one of 12 sponsors and partners who backed this year’s event.
The Quintessential Gentleman knows that mission firsthand. QG was part of BOMESI’s accelerator cohort last year and attended the summit, an experience that reinforced what the organization has been building toward since its founding: a stronger, more connected ecosystem for Black-owned and diverse-owned media to thrive together.
The BOMESI Accelerator focuses on infrastructure, ecosystem building, and audience development to increase deal flow and total investment to a greater number of media companies serving Black and diverse communities.
For more information on future BOMESI programming and partnership opportunities, visit bomesi.org.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of BOMESI
