Eric Williams is the founder and creative director of The Silver Room, a community events hub, art gallery, and retail space established in 1997. As a social entrepreneur, Williams addresses the historic disenfranchisement in communities of color by providing space, support, and programming that responds to his core constituents’ needs. The Silver Room’s annual Sound System Block Party and Connect Art Festival transform Chicago streets and empty lots into sites of celebration that strengthen communities and fuel economic growth. In 2018, Downtown Hyde Park Chicago dedicated its inaugural Economic Impact Award to the Sound System Block Party, noting that the event brought over 40,000 celebrants to the neighborhood and generated an estimated $3.6 million in economic impact for the Southside.