MUSKEGON, Mich. — It was a day of celebrating Black excellence in Muskegon. It began with a symposium where business owners, startup hopefuls and community members alike came together to learn from one another, and create a network to build up one another into the future.
“It’s so powerful and influential because you never know when someone is going to speak a word over your life," says Lashae Simmons II, the founder of Black Wall Street Muskegon. "What worked for the next person may not work for you, but sometimes that encouragement just gives you the energy to go forward.”
Following the symposium, the event was opened up to the public, and more than 60 vendors - all black-owned businesses - created a marketplace, selling anything from clothes and jewelry to realty or legal services. Business owners like Deborah Whitehurst, who sells Natural beauty products.
“You hear so many negative things," she says. "I think that it takes business to unify and bring the community together to learn that we all can lift each other up and we all have something to offer each other.”
Even if you want to take a break from shopping to grab a drink, you’re still supporting the community, because both the vodka and the champagne, even the bottled water, were provided by black-owned businesses.
More than just inspiration, having all of these businesses together allows for practical advice to be shared, which organizers say keeps even more money in the hands of minority business owners.
“For example, if I’m looking for someone to do my logos," says Darius Mitchell, an emcee at the event, "not only are you going to find someone to do that, they are most likely going to be a minority, be it race or gender or religion.”
The hope is to turn the event into an annual tradition.
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