ASHTABULA — Celebrating Black-owned businesses was the theme for the Ashtabula NAACP’s Black Americans and Labor event. The expo featured a panel on how to start a business, and more than 20 vendors participated, showcasing different Black-owned businesses in Ashtabula.
“We're an underserved community here and people don't realize how many black businesses that are here, and the different crafts that people do to make a living here,” said Ashtabula NAACP President Liz Penna.
Tasha Sheffey is the owner of Tasha’s Closet Boutique; she says she wants to see more Black-owned businesses in the area that serve the black community.
“You must go out of town to different cities to be able to shop and get things, and I don't think that's how it should be. I think there should be something to accommodate everyone in [the] city that they live in,” Sheffey said.
Sheffey said the lack of Black-owned businesses is due to the lack of support and finances.
“It's important to come out and support each other so the money stays within our community too. So, that we can make that money grow and encourage other people to start a business. And have more money coming back into the community,” Penna said.
To encourage and teach more people in the black community how to start their own businesses, the NAACP hosted a panel with different black entrepreneurs, like Otis Sandidge, who is the owner of S&B Floor Covering in Ashtabula.
“It's very important to have this event especially for the younger people growing up, to let them know even though you are black, you still have an opportunity and there were a lot of people on that panel that showed that,” Sandidge said.
It also teaches the crowd the importance of staying committed because the journey will not be easy, as well as where to access different financial resources.
“A lot of people feel like they can't start their own business because it's marked against them before they get started. Starting with not having luck trying to get a loan or trying to get support. But they can come to things like this, where they can network. And see who can support them, where they can get the loans, where they can get the grants and who is in their corner for support,“ Penna said.
The organization hopes that next year, more Black-owned businesses will get involved and help inspire the next generation.
“I hope they leave with a sense of pride of what African American’s can do in our community, the different crafts and the different businesses. And have the pride that we can do whatever we need to do and be happy about it,” Penna said.
