Black Chicago Tomorrow

Black Chicago Tomorrow (BCT) was founded in 2016 by Sam Scott, retired chairman and CEO of Ingredion Inc., as one response to a growing sense of urgency to address the interconnected and complex issues that African American communities face in Chicago. Scott called on Chicago's business community to come together in a coordinated way to support and provide resources to address neighborhood-level challenges and community-wide barriers for African Americans. This partnership, he argued, would lift up both the African American community and Chicago overall.

This idea led to the launch of BCT. BCT aims to revitalize the African American community through holistic, place-based and community-wide initiatives that will drive better coordination of resources and ensure that community voices are heard. 

Our Vision

Black Chicago Tomorrow envisions a vibrant African American community that benefits from and contributes to the region’s economy and society

Our Approach

BCT’s work is guided by our belief that vibrant communities contain the following: (1) economic opportunity for its residents, (2) quality educational systems, (3) easy access to health systems and good health outcomes, (4) perception of safety, (5) great family support systems, and (6) robust infrastructure. These six vibrant community characteristics set the foundation for how we approach our work.

Our Work

Our work is centered in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood where we work closely with community leaders and community partners to build on existing efforts to accelerate and catalyze development. We do this through coordinating and convening stakeholders and connecting community residents to a network of partners that can provide additional resources and capacity in support of the community’s identified needs and priorities.