Joseph E. Newsome, President
South Providence Develpment Corporation
Joseph E. Newsome, President and Executive Director of the South Providence Development Corporation (SPDC) is a true advocate for minority small business. As leader of SPDC, a community development corporation established in 1995, he has been out front and always stands tall ensuring that all communities are properly recognized. SPDC is a partnership vehicle for Rhode Island Hospital, Women & Infants Hospital and Saint Joseph Hospital, the United Way, the Providence Plan, the Human Resource Investment Council, neighborhood residents, and others. It specializes in workforce training, job placement and small business development within one geographical segment of the Providence Enterprise Community.
Prior to joining SPDC, he was a small business owner in his own right. As President of Creative Communications, a business consulting firm, Newsome found it to be the vehicle through which he encouraged his advocacy for minority small businesses specializing in research and publications. With a secondary emphasis on community organizing projects, Joe continually showed leadership as a business person and advocate.
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Creative Communications assisted in major studies commissioned by the Rhode Island Urban Project and the Urban League of Rhode Island. One study led to the creation of the Minority Development Investment Corporation, which today provides debt and equity capital to minority-owned businesses statewide.
Another study resulted in the creation of its Advocacy and Public Policy Unit and helped establish its Monitoring Committee, which tracks key indicators of community wellbeing and justice.
From 1989 to 1995, Newsome served as a member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives, elected from District 18 in Providence. During his tenure in the General Assembly, he chaired the Economic Development Committee of the Rhode Island Black Caucus of State Legislators, and he served as chairman of the Commission on Equal Employment Opportunity. Joe also chaired the Rhode Island Commission on Socially Responsible Corporations, and served on the House Corporations Committee and the Joint Committee on Small Business.
He sponsored many pieces of legislation that have become law, including the state’s Community Reinvestment Act, the Equal Opportunity Act of 1994, and the Minority Business Enterprise Compliance Act.
Newsome negotiated agreements for disadvantaged business participation on major construction projects such as the Rhode Island Convention Center, the Narragansett Electric Company Manchester Street Re-powering Project, the T.F. Green State Airport Project, and the Providence Place Mall.
Joe was an organizer and founder of the Rhode Island Committee for Nonviolence Initiatives, the Black Economic Development Council, and the Rhode Island-Liberia Initiative. The Rhode Island-Liberia Initiative was formed in 1991 and has helped over 60 students from the West African nation travel to the United States to complete their education.
Newsome serves as the co-chairman of the Black-Jewish Alliance of Rhode Island, which is committed to fostering better relations between the two communities. He also chairs the Providence Community Mediation Center, is board chair of CleanScape, Inc., a for-profit subsidiary of the South Providence Development Corporation that specializes in recycling services for businesses. He also chairs The Center to Advance Minority Participation in the Building Trades, Inc.
Newsome was twice the delegate from Rhode Island to the African-American Summit held in Senegal in 1995 and in Cote d’Ivoire, West Africa in 1991.
He was also chairman of the Investments Committee of the American Baptist Churches of Rhode Island, a committee that manages the pooled endowment funds of 76 Rhode Island Baptist Churches. While he was chairman, the committee developed and implemented its policy on socially responsible investing.
Joe has been recognized frequently for his extensive community service. His many awards and citations include, the John O. Pastore Award for Government Service from the National Conference of Christians and Jews; the Partners in Housing Award from the Rhode Island Housing and Mortgage Finance Corporation; the Advocate of the Year Award from the Rhode Island Black Contractors Association; and the Rhode Island Minority Advocate of the Year Award from the Governor and the Rhode Island Office of Minority Business Assistance.
He also received the NAACP Special Recognition Award for anti-apartheid work; the Rhode Island Department of Transportation’s Award for Excellence in Legislative Initiatives, and the Oasis International’s 1999 Community Service Award.
Newsome holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Williams College and a Master Degree in Health Care Administration from the University of Minnesota.
The U.S. Small Business Administration is proud to honor Joseph E. Newsome as the 2000 Rhode Island Minority Small Business Advocate of the Year for his demonstrated commitment and accomplishments on behalf of minority small businesses.
