What The Next Generation Is Actually Paying Attention To
NEWARK, N.J. – May 27, the founder, president and CEO of the African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey walked into a room full of high school and college students at 2 Cedar St. in Newark — paid them $50 for their time — it was a fair exchange.
“Every minute you live on this earth, you gotta be productive with your time,” Harmon told the group. “Because you can’t get it back.”
He said it like a man who understands how fleeting youth is. Harmon built the only accredited statewide Black chamber in the United States from $14,000 and an idea. He has sat in boardrooms with bank presidents, hospital executives, and governors. He has been to the White House. At the HAX Newark Headquarters, Dr. Harmon spoke with Newark’s future engineers, sociologists, lawyers, artists, doctors, and musicians about the value of relationships and financial literacy.
AACCNJ chairman of the board and JASFEL Analytics Founder Gary Mann moderated the focus group under a simple premise: listen first, then respond. The topic — what grabs young people’s attention and what gets ignored — produced data, honest conversation, and one line from Harmon that anchored everything.
“It’s not where you start. It’s where you wanna go, and how committed you are to being successful.”
The $50 Was a Test
Brianna Porter, a junior at New Jersey City University studying sociology, came to HAX prepared to learn. When the subject of payment came up — and some attendees made it clear that compensation was their primary motivator — Porter had a different read.
“I think the heart should be wanting to gain something from an event rather than something that can just put gas in my car,” Porter said. “Something that gives us insight as to where we can go further in life.”
She valued the $50 but the opportunity to converse with AACCNJ wasn’t taken lightly.
“As a college student, I need to know who’s around me,” she said. “I need to know what’s in my state as I’m studying that could connect me for opportunities that are greater than Jersey City.”
For Porter, the value had nothing to do with the $50. New Jersey is big, and access is uneven. Harmon came to Newark to hand some of it over directly.
“If I’m in the room, you don’t have to be in the room. Because your interest, your concerns are in front of mine when I’m in the room.”- Dr John Harmon
The Focus Group
The room took a live survey before the night ended. Eighty-eight percent of attendees said social media is where they find out about opportunities.
Harmon looked at the numbers and went straight for what mattered. “It’s not about who you know,” he said. “It’s about who knows you.”
Money and clear goals are what make young people stop scrolling. Content with no visible benefit gets ignored immediately. What they will share — without being asked — is internships, scholarships, and paid programs. Proof moves faster than promotion.
On platform, Instagram and TikTok ranked at the top. Facebook registered no real pull. LinkedIn was acknowledged but ranked lower — useful for direct networking, not discovery. The group was specific about format too. Videos need to move fast — under 13 seconds, quick cuts, show the room, show the people, show what’s actually happening. Instagram is where they go for reliable event information. TikTok is where exposure happens first.
When asked who they want to hear from, young professionals ranked first. Harmon pushed back — gently.
“We’re not here to say that any answer is wrong, right? Now, young professionals can inspire you, which I think is good.” Dr. Harmon continued, “To see a young person do something, that’s gonna encourage you to say I could do that as well. But to get a little perspective from someone who has been a little more traveled is gonna help you avoid some of the mistakes that your peers might make. So, let’s give it space on both sides.”
The data is a roadmap. The chamber asked, the students answered, and now the work is execution.
Connections as Currency
Samuel Smith, an incoming senior at Columbia High School, left HAX with an understanding of the value of relationships.
“I learned how powerful connections can be,” Smith said. “You might not know somebody, but somebody’s gonna know that person, and you can always get a connection to that person.”
He articulated what the chamber has built over decades in a single sentence. The AACCNJ has 800 to 900 member companies, relationships with bank presidents, hospital systems, university executives, and a direct line to state and federal policy. For a high school senior from South Orange, that network is a goldmine.
Smith also spoke to what it meant for him and his peers to be in the room with AACCNJ leadership.
“They are our future. We are the future. If we’re not building, and if we’re not doing things that can help us for the greater good, our future is doomed. This event was very powerful for young minds.”
What the Educator Saw
Lamar Washington has worked in Newark’s education ecosystem for a decade. As external affairs manager at Great Oaks Legacy Charter School, he watched the evening with the trained eye of someone who knows what’s usually missing from rooms like this.
“It’s important to have these conversations about financial literacy,” Washington said. “What it means to actually put in an effort to become successful. We need to have more conversations like this for youth, and show them how they can succeed no matter where their starting point is.”
He was struck by the quality of the questions the young people asked — the transparency of the exchange, and the weight students placed on seeing leadership that looked like them and stayed after the event ended.
“I felt like they asked really thoughtful questions,” Washington said. “We are in these rooms with people who are connected to different stakeholders in the community, and I think our young people were able to take away a lot from just seeing someone who comes from a similar background as them.”
Washington made one point that belongs in every pipeline conversation happening in a boardroom right now. The chamber brought its founder.
“Having C-suite employees come down and talk to young people is important,” Washington said. “They could have sent someone else, but they chose to do it themselves. It’s mission critical for them to be present in the community.”
What Gets Ignored
The chamber paid $50 for the room’s attention. In return, they received a roadmap. For a generation that scrolls past anything without clear value, the AACCNJ showed up with founders.
The question now is, what gets built from it?
The African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey is the only accredited statewide Black chamber in the United States. For membership and youth program information, visit aaccnj.com.
HAX is a Newark-based venture capital firm and accelerator that invests in companies building solutions to global problems. The space is open to the community for events, co-working, and collaboration. For more information, visit hax.co.
