Sean "Diddy" Combs, Vy Higginsen, Karen Hunter, Robin Williams & Ericka Pittman Honored

NEW YORK - May 8, 2018 - PRLog -- Sponsors: Airbnb, Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone & Barefoot Wine and Bubbly

For the past 37 years, the Harlem Business Alliance (HBA) has honored black brilliance with their annual awards gala. This year's theme, 'The Art of Success' was a sold-out event (May 2^nd) at Mist Harlem, spotlighted the preeminence of black creatives.

The HBA celebrated five outstanding individuals, who have unapologetically changed the landscape with talent and swagger. This year's honorees: Sean "Diddy" Combs, COMBS ENTERPRISES, (recently named 'One of the Greatest Minds'), Vy Higginsen, Mama Foundation for the Arts (Community Service Award, Author, Playwright, Radio/TV Personality), Karen Hunter, Chairman's Award, Mogul andSirius XM Urban View (Percy E. Sutton Award, Pulitzer Prize Journalist, Professor, Publisher, and Creator of #1 Voting App), Ericka Pittman, AQUAhydrate (Business Person of the Year, Chief Marketing Officer & Global Strategist) Robin Williams, Uptown Dance Academy (Entrepreneur of the Year, International Dancer and Choreographer).

The Harlem Business Alliance has pledged its service as an advocate for the preservation and retention of Harlem's business community for over 37 years. Programs include, but are not limited to: Harlem's first co-working space; first adult stem program; 10,000 entrepreneurs served through programs and services; 2,000 entrepreneurs received one-on-one counseling and over 1,200 workshops. With HBA's guidance, their client's small businesses bloomed from concept to tangible product, street vendor to store owner and food enthusiast to food artisan. Disrupt Harlem Code Squad was launched in Fall 2015, the first hyper-focused program to connect young adults with entrepreneurship options via technology.  Lastly, the HBA acknowledges when you educate a woman, you educate a generation; this inspired the groundbreaking Lillian Project, a tailored entrepreneur incubator for native-born African American women.

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About the Harlem Business Alliance

The Harlem Business Alliance (HBA), was founded in 1980 by a group of prominent Harlem business leaders who recognized the void that had resulted from years of disinvestment and abandonment in Harlem and the critical need to mobilize the existing businesses and organizations to come together as a collective voice. Incorporated in 1990 as a class 402 501(c)(3) corporation, HBA has worked diligently to establish Harlem as an economically self-sustaining community. For more information, visit www.hbany.org.