By Gabby Berry
Transcript:
NAT SOUND
WE ARE WELL INTO THE 100TH BLACK HISTORY MONTH THIS FEBRUARY. THROUGH SNOW STORMS AND FRIGID WINDS, BOSTON FILLS THE COLD WITH BLACK HISTORY EXHIBITS AND POP-UPS WEEKLY. A HUGE PART OF BLACK CULTURE IN BOSTON IS THE ECONOMY BOOST BY BLACK OWNED BUSINESS.
EVENTS LIKE THE FOURTH ANNUAL BLACK-OWNED BUSINESS MARKETPLACE POP– HOSTED BY THE CAMBRIDGE-SOMMERVILLE BLACK BUSINESS NETWORK– HELP WITH THIS. THIS ANNUAL POP UP HOLDS STRONG AS ONE OF THE MANY AFRICAN AMERICAN POP UPS IN BOSTON, GIVING THESE BUSINESS OWNERS A SPOTLIGHT IN THE HEART OF CAMBRIDGE.
TUCKED INSIDE OF EASTERN BANK AWAY FROM THE SWIRLING SNOW, MORE THAN TEN BLACK OWNED BUSINESSES FILLED UP THE VACANT ROOM. WITH PRODUCTS LIKE ETHIOPIAN COFFEE, AWARD-WINNING SAUCE, SCALP OIL AND DESIGNER BAGS– THIS POP-UP SHINED A LIGHT ON THE CREATIVITY AND DRIVE BLACK BUSINESS OWNERS FROM ALL ACROSS NEW ENGLAND HAD TO OFFER. NICOLE WILLIAMS, THE DIRECTOR OF CSBBN, SAYS THAT POP-UPS LIKE THESE DRIVE SUPPORT AND BRAND AWARENESS TO INCREDIBLY HELPFUL LEVELS.
SOT – NICOLE
WILLIAMS SAYS THAT PEOPLE ARE HUNGRY FOR CHANGE, DIVERSITY AND UNIQUENESS– AND THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT SHOPPERS WILL FIND AT THEIR POP-UP. WHILE CUSTOMERS MAY BE LOOKING FOR ONE SPECIFIC THING IN THEIR SHOPPING, SEVERAL BUSINESS OWNERS MAY EVEN BE OFFERING SOMETHING THEY DIDN’T THINK THEY COULD FIND– OR DIDN’T EVEN KNOW THEY NEEDED. BLACK BUSINESS OWNERS IN BOSTON FIND IT MOSTLY CHALLENGING TO OWN THEIR OWN SPACE FOR THEIR BUSINESS, AND WILLIAM’S BELIEVES IT’S IMPORTANT THAT AS A COMMUNITY, BLACK BOSTONIANS WORK TOGETHER TO CREATE THAT SPACE.
ONE OF MANY BLACK SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS THAT THE POP-UP HOSTED WAS IVY LAWSON, A NATIVE BOSTONIAN AND OWNER OF IVYEES EVERYTHING HONEY. ON HER TABLE WAS A RANGE OF HONEY PRODUCTS; RAW HONEY, SKIN CARE, AWARD-WINNING DEODORANT AND EVEN TOOTHPASTE. LIKE SEVERAL OTHER BUSINESS OWNERS THAT ATTENDED THE POP-UP, LAWSON SAYS HER PRODUCTS ARE REASONABLY PRICED FOR OUR COMMUNITY. THESE PRODUCTS ARE ALSO SOLD ONLINE, MAKING THEM AVAILABLE NO MATTER HOW CHALLENGING IT IS FOR BLACK BUSINESS OWNERS TO OWN A PHYSICAL SHOP.
SHE ALSO GETS IT THE SAME WAY OTHERS GET IT– HEALTHY PRODUCTS SHOULDN’T RUN OUR POCKETS DRY. HER PASSION FOR HER PRODUCT WAS UNDENIABLE– SHE HASN’T WORKED FOR ANY CORPORATION SINCE 2017, HER DEVOTION IS TO HER HONEY. STILL, SHE FINDS THAT THERE ARE DIFFICULTIES IN STARTING A BUSINESS HERE IN BOSTON.
VO 5 – IVY
WHEN I ASKED LAWSON WHY SHE THINKS MARKETPLACES ARE IMPORTANT FOR THE BLACK COMMUNITY, HER ANSWER WAS SIMPLE; THAT’S BECAUSE BLACK BOSTONIANS ARE APART OF THE COMMUNITY. LAWSON CONTINUES TO REACH OUT TO THE BLACK COMMUNITY AND DOESN’T PLAN ON STOPPING THE FLOW OF HER HONEY ANYTIME SOON.
THE IDEA OF TOGETHERNESS AND STRENGTH WITHIN A COMMUNITY WAS HARD TO MISS IN THE ROOM. NOT FAR FROM IVYEES EVERYTHING HONEY WAS LYN JOHNSON AND ERYKA CHANTEL, A MOTHER AND DAUGHTER DUO PROMOTING JOHNSON’S BUSINESS, ELCEE JAY LLC. LYN JOHNSON’S BUSINESS SELLS PLANT-BASED BODY BUTTERS AND CBD SKIN CARE CREAMS FOR PAIN AND INFLAMMATION.
JOHNSON IS YET ANOTHER EXAMPLE THAT HEALTHY PRODUCTS WITHIN THE BLACK COMMUNITY DON’T HAVE TO COST A PRETTY PENNY– HER CREAMS ARE REASONABLY PRICED. SHE IS ALSO AN EXAMPLE OF TURNING TRIAL INTO SUCCESS– JOHNSON BEGAN HER BUSINESS AFTER DEALING WITH LUPUS NINE YEARS AGO. OVER-THE-COUNTER CREAMS WOULDN’T HELP HER, SO THROUGH SELF EDUCATION AND HOME REMEDIES SHE CREATED HER OWN PRODUCTS.
IN THIS, SHE FOUND THAT NATURAL REMEDIES HELPED SKIN CONDITIONS IN WAYS THAT SHE DIDN’T KNOW OF. WHICH GOT HER THINKING; HOW MANY OTHERS IN OUR COMMUNITY DIDN’T KNOW OF THESE NATURAL REMEDIES? JOHN HAD THIS TO SAY;
SOT – LYN
THE ART OF A SMALL BUSINESS IS TAKING EDUCATION, LOVE AND COMMUNITY AND TURNING IT INTO A LIFESTYLE. SHAHIDAH AHMAD, THE OWNER OF TREATS FROM SCRATCH, KNOWS A LOT ABOUT SHARING FAMILY LOVE AS A BUSINESS. HER BUSINESS STEMS FROM HER LATE FATHER’S LOVE FOR TREATS, AND FAMILY CONNECTION– WHICH WAS UNDENIABLE AS HER MOTHER AND HER AUNT SAT BEHIND HER AT THEIR POP-UP TABLE. AHMAD BELIEVES THAT POP-UPS LIKE THE BLACK OWNED BUSINESS MARKETPLACE IN CAMBRIDGE CREATES CONNECTIONS YOU CAN’T FIND ANYWHERE ELSE.
SOT – SHAHIDAH
THESE THREE BUSINESSES ARE ONLY A HANDFUL OF THE STRONG, FOUNDATIONAL BLACK OWNED SMALL BUSINESSES NOT ONLY THE POP-UP, BUT BOSTON OFFERS. POP-UPS LIKE THESE ARE KEY MOMENTS OF BLACK HISTORY MONTH IN OUR NATION; THIS MONTH ISN’T ONLY ABOUT THE TRIALS AND PAIN OF THE BLACK COMMUNITY, BUT IT’S ABOUT THE CREATIVITY AND CULTURE THAT ENGULFS THE NATION.
BOSTONIANS, WHETHER SNOW OR SHINE, MAKE IT A POINT THIS BLACK HISTORY MONTH TO APPRECIATE THE BLACK CULTURE IN BOSTON. SUPPORT BLACK-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS AND TAKE SOME TIME TO LEARN HOW BLACK CULTURE WEAVES INTO YOUR EVERYDAY LIFE. FROM YOUR MUSIC TO THE CLOTHES YOU WEAR, YOU’D BE SURPRISED AT HOW BLACK BUSINESS OWNERS AND CULTURE INFLUENCE OUR EVERYDAY LIVES.
FOR YOU ARE HERE, I’M GABBY BERRY.
