Meet our Fellows

Safronia Perry: Black Economic Growth Alliance

Carlisle, Pennsylvania

An Unlikely Community Leader Becomes an Advocate for Black Businesses

“Last summer, after the killings of George Floyd and Breanna Taylor, I was frustrated. I was mad. I was really going through a bevy of feelings and trying to figure out exactly what my role needed to be. I wanted to do more. I personally needed to do more. My grandson was just born.”

 As Safronia Perry looked at her infant grandson, she felt compelled to act.

“I felt I had to do more. We have to do more for our community. Protesting is good, nothing against it, but what else do you do besides protesting?”

Perry did what was most natural for her. She became an advocate.

 “One thing that I've always been big on is supporting Black-owned businesses. Whether it's the apparel that I wear or the earrings I wear, let me go in and support this business. If it’s a movie or a television show and it’s Black, let me watch it,” said Perry.

 “The President and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce here in Carlisle reached out to me about doing some things to support Black-owned businesses, making sure they got funding and things like that. We started meeting and gathering people.” 

 When the Chamber of Commerce opted to widen their efforts to include the broader category of minority-owned businesses, Perry chose to take a different path to create a network that focused specifically on supporting Black-owned businesses. 

“There’s never been any real support for Black-owned businesses here. It was problematic for me on a personal level.”

In May of 2021, BEGA, the Black Economic Growth Alliance, was born.

Perry and her business partner, Cebrum George, made the decision to step out on their own to create a group with the specific focus of supporting Black-owned businesses in Carlisle and the Central PA area. “We were already meeting with some of these businesses. We had been having what we called community conversations with the businesses that we’re working with now. We had their trust and support.” said Perry.

Within months, Perry and George established an LLC and began consulting with businesses, working as advocates for Black businesses within the community, and supporting them with training and resources. “It just kind of just took off from there. I feel great with putting things together,” said Perry.

Perry considers herself an unlikely community leader. Even today, as founder of BEGA, executive director of a non-profit, and a candidate for Carlisle Borough Council, where, if elected, she will be the first Black woman on the Carlisle Borough Council, Perry finds herself surprised by her achievements. 

“I'm gonna say this, it's still a surprise to me almost every day that I'm doing any of this.”

Born in Fitzgerald, Georgia, Perry moved to Carlisle with her mother and siblings at age five and grew up in Carlisle as the oldest of 5 in the midst of a tight knit extended family. A 1988 graduate of Carlisle High School, Perry has lived in Carlisle for more than 45 years and raised two sons as a single mother.

 “My story is, I guess unusual is the correct word. It's different than most people who are in the position that I'm in. This was not what I ever saw myself doing. I didn't have a career, I worked jobs to take care of my family. I didn’t even think about this type of career at that time,” said Perry.

Her path to community advocacy began at Hope Station, a non-profit that serves low-income families in Carlisle.  Having served in several roles on the board of trustees, in 2017 Perry moved into the position of Executive Director. Under her leadership, Hope Station has expanded its mission to address social and racial justice inequities in the Carlisle community. Perry particularly values the re-entry work at Hope Station with ex-offenders who are “just trying to get their life back on track.”

 Perry went on to complete her education as an adult, earning a BS in Psychology from the University of Phoenix. In 2018, she graduated from Leadership Cumberland and serves on a number of community boards and commissions.

Founder of BEGA

 Today, as founder of BEGA, Perry is committed to advocacy and creating support for Black businesses. BEGA’s mission statement reads

“To bolster equity and economic growth within the black community by way of black entrepreneurial inclusion & organizational strategies.”

Perry hopes BEGA will assist Black-owned businesses to become autonomous, self-sustaining, and economically successful. Perry and George plan to assist business members with asset procurement, provide the tools and resources needed for them to become fully operational, and to allocate money and equity back into the Black community.

Networking is an integral part of the BEGA plan. Perry hopes that BEGA will create a sense of community for Black business owners. “We want these businesses to come in and be a team together, supporting each other and giving back to the community.

Plans for BEGA include offering workshops and training for basic business practices, including how to create an LLC, whether an LLC is right for you, how to get an EI number, and how to write a business plan. Perry also hopes to provide in-house legal and accounting services from Black providers who understand the struggles of Black-owned businesses.

Another dream is to create a hub that businesses could use for office, retail or production space. “We’re looking at a building that used to be a church, a big building, where we could create a hub with space for different needs,” said Perry.

Advocacy is part of the work Perry is called to do. Recently, she attended a meeting with one of the BEGA businesses as they attempted to get funding. “It turned out that it wasn’t the proper place for them to get the funding, but me just being there as support for them helped.”  The business owner felt better with Perry in the meeting because they could trust her to offer real support and an honest opinion.

Perry is optimistic about changes happening in the community even though people seem to have moved on from the protests of last summer.

“It was a great movement. People got involved in protesting. People were supporting Black businesses. But now it’s not in the headlines anymore and they have moved past it. But I’ve also seen new jobs created with the words – diversity, equity and inclusion - in places that had not been doing that before.”

Perry continues to work with the Carlisle Chamber of Commerce to expand opportunities for Black owned businesses and to work toward equity for the Black community.

 In 2021, Perry decided to run for Carlisle Borough Council, winning the primary and is now running unopposed in the general election.

“I chose to run for my community. I chose to run for little Black girls that need to believe that they can do anything they put their mind to. I want to represent the community that raised me and my children” said Perry in announcing her candidacy.

“Growing up as a Black girl, I felt very insecure about a lot of things. Now I feel the full power it is and that Black people have more power than we know, even though we don’t have the type of power that our white counterparts have.”

“What motivates me is this actual fight. Every day, that’s what I’m doing – I’m fighting and even if it’s in the smallest thing that I do, even if it’s just speaking up for something or somebody, it motivates me.  And my grandson and my family motivate me and inspire me to keep doing this. I want them to feel proud of me, knowing that one day when they’re talking to their children and I’m gone, they can say I always tried. I showed up. I think that’s important.”

Update: In November of 2021, Perry was elected as the first Black woman to serve on the Carlisle Borough Council.

A Sample of Current BEGA Businesses