WATERLOO — A Black entrepreneur who fought to establish her first business told the audience at Sunday’s Martin Luther King Jr. Banquet that the slain civil rights leader’s dream is still alive today.
ReShonda Young, the founder of Popcorn Heaven and a business development coach, was the keynote speaker for the 46th annual banquet at the Waterloo Convention Center on the eve of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The event was sponsored by the Black Hawk County chapter of the NAACP.
Young started Popcorn Heaven in Waterloo in 2014 and sold it three years later, after franchises of the business had opened around the country. She is currently in the process of launching the Bank of Jabez, which would be a Community Development Financial Institution primarily serving low- and moderate-income people.
Young spoke about her life and the dreams she had and how much she had to fight to make them come true, just like King did in fighting for racial equality. At an early age, Young knew she wanted to become a top-five member of her East High School graduating class and get a scholarship to go to college.
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