New listing aims to raise awareness of black-owned businesses – Lynchburg News and Advance

In Lynchburg and elsewhere, there has been a renewed effort, fueled by social media and other means of communication, to support minority-owned businesses following the death of George Floyd, a black man who died May 25 in police custody and whose death sparked global protests.

Gloria Witt, owner of Define Success, which offers coaching and facilitation services in Lynchburg, said the word access comes to mind when she thinks about black-owned businesses.

We need access to capital and referrals. For our businesses to succeed and flourish, many of us need better access to capital, she said. This is not a handout but a hand up. Does our local community provide access to loans at a reasonable rate? Are we more than a credit score? Do any of our local banks offer unique programs to uplift specifically black-owned businesses?

In my experience in working in the Lynchburg area, black-owned business owners are not networked to the economic power structures. Instead, we accept the reality that many of our local companies already have established relationships and networks and that there is little openness to change.

According to Witt, in order to break this cycle, those in positions of power must intentionally do something different.

Stop doing what is considered normal and start to get comfortable with being uncomfortable, she said. Break the silence of unconscious bias. This means acknowledging that there are local black-owned suppliers and personally deciding that he/she will start to do business with them provided the company is competitive and can meet the needs of the person and/or organization.

She said whether she likes it or not, white power and white privilege is real; only by disrupting the system will black-owned businesses be granted an opportunity to compete.

My ask to the community is to be intentional and consciously commit to doing something different by intentionally supporting black-owned businesses, she said.

Tarsha Joyner, owner of Mrs. Joys Absolutely Fabulous Treats at 1008 Commerce St., said its important for people to know the challenge for a minority-owned small business is the same for any small business: It cannot survive without support from the community.

That fact doesnt change no matter what color you are, she said. I never want anyone to support my business solely because of the color of my skin. If that were the case, I wouldnt care so much. I wouldnt work so hard. I wouldnt spend so much money on ingredients. I wouldnt sacrifice so much of my life if the easy thing was to say, Hey! Im brown! Shop here!

She asks the community to support her simply because she works hard.

I make absolutely fabulous products. Come to Mrs. Joys for those reasons. Because Im the best. Anything else is like getting a trophy for participation, she said. It doesnt feel quite the same as receiving a trophy for winning.

Business listings aim to boost support

Earlier in June, the Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance met with Jawansa and Michelline Hall, of Blackwater Branding; Charese Chambers, of Financial Fancy; and Geoffrey Kershner, of the Academy Center of the Arts, to talk about putting together a listing of minority-owned businesses in the region.

Businesses can complete a customized form for the list, which will be placed on the Alliances website with a search feature to help the community easily support minority-owned enterprises.

Carla Wilkes-Rose, owner of Credit Chance, LLC, has joined forces with Jawansa Hall in making another directory.

Wilkes-Rose initially started foundational work on The Hill City Greenbook three years ago but never completed it. After seeing businesses struggle because of economic conditions the last few months, she decided now was a good time to finish it.

Even back three years ago, I always wanted to support black businesses and I would go out and support them and buy stuff just to buy it, she said. With COVID-19, businesses got hit hard, so Im trying to boost them back up and help get them through the pandemic.

The website, hillcitygreenbook.com, allows businesses to set up memberships for free. Once 100 businesses are signed up, Wilkes-Rose plans to launch a mobile app.

From the list she has compiled so far, shes found about 250 black-owned businesses in Lynchburg. But even though she would go out of her way to search for these businesses in the past, she often found she had never heard about many of them.

I think its a marketing thing, and were planning to help some of these small businesses to market better, she said.

Jawansa Hall said businesses live and die by their supporters and black-owned businesses are no exception.

Lack of support from your community in the form of customers will shatter any entrepreneurial dream of being successful, he said. Support of minority businesses should be a part of our everyday lifestyles, not just an occasional celebratory event. Yet, black businesses have to actively campaign for financial and emotional support. If our current situation is the wake-up call needed for economic growth, I will accept it. My only prayer is that we do not fall back asleep.

Alliance pledges support

Christine Kennedy, chief operating officer of the Alliance and director of Leadership Lynchburg, said the Alliance is working to create a focus group/town hall to gather feedback on additional ways to support this segment of the community.

Kennedy also provided input to the Lynchburg Police Departments Community Police Advisory Group during its June 8 meeting for a possible plan of action that could lead to increased transparency, dialogue and community building.

On May 31, protesters gathered outside Fifth & Federal Station partly because of a social media post from the restaurant in which it suggested it would offer employees face masks displaying a racist image from Gov. Northams medical school yearbook. As night fell, police have said, the protests turned violent and officers were called to the scene.

Immediately after that incident, the Alliances Leadership Lynchburg program held a Zoom webinar with area equity experts and community leaders to help bring increased understanding to what the African-American community is feeling as a result of recent events.

The Leadership Lynchburg Council, which oversees all Leadership Lynchburg programming, will meet June 22 to discuss how else it can act to help further equality in the community.

Last week the Alliance announced its partnership with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on a national initiative to address inequality of opportunity.

The Alliances work in diversity, equity and inclusion is not new, Kennedy said. Weve conducted focus groups, sponsored African-American community events, created our own [diversity, equity, and inclusion] statement for operations and held [human resources] dialogues on ways to increase inclusivity in the workplace. What has occurred over the past few weeks amplifies the need to do more. We are committed to continue our work in this arena so that we can look back and see true, lasting positive change.

The Alliance will join the U.S. Chambers national town hall event June 25, during which business and community leaders will discuss concrete actions that can be taken by government and the private sector to address inequality through education, employment, entrepreneurship and criminal justice reform.

Elise Spontarelli, executive director of Vector Space, located at 402 5th St., said she believes May and June have been full of justified unrest on the street, referring to the events at Fifth & Federal on May 31.

Spontarelli said the community is coming to terms with long-ignored inequality, and the nonprofit a makerspace and community workshop for woodworkers, tinkerers and others wants to consider its role in the midst of the unrest.

Our home in Lynchburgs historically black neighborhood is not something we overlook, and inclusion and equality has always been the goal for our member and student community, she said. However, building this culture has been a long process and we have not succeeded in many ways.

She recently attended the virtual Nation of Makers Conference, where equity and inclusion were a big topic.

I have talked to and learned from our makerspace peers in other communities that are doing it better, and am equipped with their insights and influence to work on our own internal community culture, she said.

Moving forward, the makerspace is taking steps to create a more inclusive environment, including hiring a black artist to paint an inclusive mural outside its building and re-engaging and collaborating with new community partners.

Rachael Smith covers local businesses and nonprofits. Reach her at (434) 385-5482.

Rachael Smith covers local businesses and nonprofits. Reach her at (434) 385-5482.

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New listing aims to raise awareness of black-owned businesses - Lynchburg News and Advance