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Chicago - Page 2

5 mins read

Couples Inc. : Brian and Autumn Own One of Chi-Town’s Dopest Boutiques

Sir & Madame is a men’s & women’s clothing brand and luxury lifestyle boutique, based in Chicago. The brand is the lovechild of the creative husband and wife team, Brian and Autumn Merritt. We reached out to find out more about their journey as partners in life and in business.

SB: How did you both meet?

Autumn: We met in Grammar School, or as non-chicagoans say: Elementary School. I was in the 7th grade and Brian was in the 8th grade, but we didn’t get together until my senior year of college.

Sir & Madame

SB: What inspired the creation of Sir and Madam?

Autumn & Brian: Sir and Madame was birthed from our previous business, Solemates, but with Sir & Madame we wanted to create our own lifestyle collection.

We both wanted something timeless so we came up with Sir & Madame, which has really been a perfect fit considering we’re husband and wife.

SB: You have been in business for about a decade. What would you attribute your longevity to?

Brian: Probably authenticity to the brand and the store by not following trends or not doing anything that we wouldn’t wear ourselves. I think people respect authenticity.

SB: Describe your individual personalities and explain how they come together to make the business work.

Autumn: I’m definitely the more outgoing person in the relationship, which works because sometimes I just need Brian’s energy because it helps me to slow down.  

My personality fits with my role since I’m the Director of Retail And Marketing. I have to engage with a lot of different people everyday.  Brian is the one managing our manufacturers and dealing with product development, so he’s more behind the scenes.

Brian: Yeah, I’m definitely more of a low-key, quiet thinker kind of guy. I’m not really excited about running a retail operation, but rather the behind the scenes aspect of it like meeting with manufacturers and doing the dirty work many people don’t really get to see.

I think it works well because it’s a totally different contrast between our two personalities. I actually call Autumn my Pit Bull because she’s sweet, but she’s very smart and knows how to protect her own.

SB: What has been the most challenging part of your entrepreneurial journey so far? What is the most gratifying?

Autumn: I think the most challenging thing is just finding the means to make your dreams come true at the end of the day.  

We are still a small business so there are times where funding is an issue, but we push through it, and our business comes out stronger because of that.

The most gratifying is being able to see something come to fruition that we’ve worked so hard on building together as a family, with very limited resources, that our kids could ultimately take over as adults.

SB: What is the most important thing your partner has taught you?

Autumn: I think to be fully present because it’s easy to lean on your spouse at times, which is great, but you still need to be able to give 100% in order to really be successful. Rather than you both just giving 50/50, you need to give 100/100.

Brian: She taught me communication is key with the business, and in life as well, making sure we’re both on the same page at all times. It’s easy to forget that when you’re used to doing behind the scene stuff, but it’s always the bigger picture you have to remember.

For us the bigger picture is our business and our family, and a key part in the success of that bigger picture is communication.”

SB: What advice do you have for couples that are also business partners?

Autumn & Brian: “The more quickly you can identify each other’s strengths and weaknesses, the easier it is to orchestrate specific roles, and the better off you’ll be when it comes to operating a business with your spouse.  It really does make your at home relationship so much better too because it makes the communication more streamline.”

 

Find out more about Sir & Madame at their website.

– Tony Oluwatoyin Lawson

4 mins read

Chicago Deposits $20 Million Into Its Last Black-Owned Bank

Chicago City Treasurer Kurt Summers announced Monday a $20 million city deposit into Chicago’s last remaining black-owned bank, Illinois Service Federal (ISF) Savings and Loan. The deposit will help fund loans under an overhauled business plan for ISF, which is intended to strengthen its service to underserved communities in the Chicago area.

“As a lifelong Chicagoan, I know how important it is for us to keep local dollars in local communities,” Summers said in a statement. “As city treasurer, I will always look for opportunities to make prudent investments directly into our neighborhoods.”

Summers made the announcement at a press conference in the lobby of ISF’s main office, in the South Side neighborhood of Bronzeville, a few blocks from the home where Summers grew up.

The announcement comes amid the Bank Black campaign, which I first reported on last year and which renews the civil rights-era message to move deposits into black-owned or black-operated banks, in solidarity with the larger Black Lives Matter movement.

ISF was founded in 1934, during the Great Depression. At the time, African-Americans were migrating north, escaping limited economic opportunities in the South. But by the time many arrived in Northern cities, seeking jobs and opportunity, those cities were already beginning to enforce or reinforce their own form of segregation — denying home mortgages to black families and designating the neighborhoods where they lived as too risky for making loans (a practice that became known as redlining).

Black-owned banks like ISF formed in many redlined communities to serve those who other lenders left behind. To this day, according to researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, minority-owned and minority-operated banks are more likely than other banks to focus on communities of diverse ethnic and immigrant backgrounds, and within similar markets they may be lending to customers who have lower income and more credit constraints than those served by other banks.

But by focusing their services and lending to the most vulnerable communities, black-owned banks have always suffered worse than other banks when the whole economy tanks. Before the last recession, there were over 40 black-owned or black-operated banks in the U.S.; today there are only around 20. In 2013, a pair of researchers found that white-owned banks of similar size and other characteristics were 10 times more likely than black-owned banks to receive assistance from TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program), the main federal bailout program for banks during the financial crisis.

Chicago’s other historic black-owned bank, Seaway Bank, could never truly recover from the crisis and Great Recession, prompting federal regulators to shut it down in January. After a brief period under the ownership of a Texas-based bank, North Carolina-based Self-Help Credit Union acquired Seaway’s deposits and assets, and the bank lives on as a division of Self-Help.

ISF was spared a similar fate thanks to the Nduom family, from Ghana, who stepped in last year with an infusion of capital and became new owners of the bank in the process. Thanks to that and an overhauled business plan that impressed federal regulators, ISF was able to move through the certification process to become a Chicago city depository, making way for Summers’ announcement Monday.

“Over 80 years ago, 13 black men with an able administrative staff of black women started this bank to provide an opportunity for the black community to gain access to home mortgages and financing to pursue their aspirations,” said ISF Chairman Papa Kwesi Nduom, in a statement. “This investment made today by Treasurer Summers provides a much-needed boost to our financial foundation.”

Source: Next City

2 mins read

Chance The Rapper Raises $2.2 Million For 20 CPS Schools

Grammy Award winner Chance The Rapper announced Friday that he raised $2.2 million to help 20 Chicago Public Schools schools in Chicago.

He began raising the funds six months ago through his nonprofit Social Works. The organization has been collecting donations for Chicago Public Schools since it was formed last year.

Each school will receive $100,000 over the next three years, with budgeting and staffing guidance provided by CPS and Ingenuity. Funds will be held by the Children First Fund and principals will submit requests for purchases through the nonprofit organization.

Chance, a “parent and proud product of CPS,” said he is committed to helping Chicago children have quality learning experiences “that include the arts.”

“Over the past month, I’ve crisscrossed the city, from Chatham to Chinatown, Humboldt Park to Hyde Park, visiting students and one thing is clear: if we invest in Chicago’s children, we’ll change the world,” the award-winning rapper said in a press release.

The schools are:

Ambrose Plamondon Elementary

Mireles Elementary Academy

C.E. Hughes Elementary

Edmond Burke Elementary

Edward White Career Academy

Esmond Elementary

Aldridge Elementary

Fiske Elementary

Greenleaf Whittier Elementary

Beethoven Elementary

Mahalia Jackson Elementary

Michele Clark Academic Prep Magnet High School

Ninos Heroes Elementary

Orr Academy High School

Oglesby Elementary

Robert A. Black Magnet Elementary

Dett Elementary

Spry Community Links High School

W.K. New Sullivan Elementary

In March, the rapper, born and raised in Chatham, donated $1 million to the Chicago Public Schools for arts education.

Later than month, Chance’s nonprofit Social Works donated $10,000 to nine CPS schools.  

 

By Andrea V. Watson

3 mins read

Black Bank To Receive $1 Million From Billionaire

Billionaire Democratic gubernatorial candidate J.B. Pritzker is making a $1 million deposit in Chicago’s last remaining Black owned bank.

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Jay Robert “J. B.” Pritzker

As we reported earlier this year, Chicago’s Seaway Bank & Trust failed, leaving Illinois Service Federal Savings as the last Black owned bank left in Chicago.

The Announcement

Pritzker hinted towards the investment earlier this week during a radio interview and his campaign team confirmed shortly after, saying the deposit is part of Pritzker’s commitment to improve economic conditions in hard hit communities and neighborhoods.

“J.B. has made expanding access to capital for small business and entrepreneurs, and making investments in the communities hardest hit by Bruce Rauner’s failed leadership and manufactured budget crisis a top priority for him as governor,” a spokesman said in an email.

Not the first $1 million deposit at a Black Bank

Pritzker’s idea isn’t original though. He’s actually doing what his opponent already did years ago.

In 2014, Bruce Rauner, a then Republican candidate for governor, deposited $1 million in a South Side credit union.

“I would have done what we’ve done today irrespective of the campaign,” Rauner said at the time.

Rauner makes $1M deposit at South Side credit union

The Scandal

The Pritzker campaign says the deposit is “part of a broader effort to revitalize minority neighborhoods.”

Others say $1 million is nothing a man who made hundreds of millions as part of the leadership at Superior Bank, a subprime mortgage and auto loan provider that eventually failed during the 2008 financial crisis.

The bank was described as “One of the nation’s largest bank failures in a decade.”

A former small business owner remembers waiting outside one of the bank’s branches the week after its closing with dozens of other depositors worried about their money.

“It looked like a soup kitchen,” he said. “And the Pritzkers made money on the deal.”

Closing thoughts

So, how do we feel about this deposit now? Is it a ploy to buy favor from Black voters?

My hope and prayer is that somehow there will actually be families and business owners that benefit for this. Hopefully, among them will be those who got shafted during the 2008 financial crisis.

 

– Tony Oluwatoyin Lawson

1 min read

Obama taps Chicago pro to handle his Finances – CRAIN

Now that he doesn’t have to try to balance the federal budget, former President Barack Obama is getting his family’s financial house in order.

He’s tapped a Chicago professional to help him with the task, taking E. “Robbie” Robinson Jr. away from Chicago investment titan BDT Capital Partners, LLC (BDT) for just a year, until January, according to sources familiar with the move.

Robinson, 40, has been a managing director at BDT since 2009, when he followed his investment banker mentor and the firm’s founder, Byron Trott, to BDT from Goldman Sachs Group.

Robbie and D’rita Robinson – Photo credit: Eric Unger

Robinson has been counseling the ex-president on everything from his recent book deal to directing money to his foundation and charities to investing his growing wealth, the sources said.

When Obama signed a book deal with Penguin Random House in February for the rights to his memoirs, the value of the agreement wasn’t disclosed, but some media reported that he and his wife, Michelle Obama, were paid $60 million for a package that includes a book by her, too.

Both of the Obamas are former lawyers who met when they worked together at Chicago law firm Sidley Austin.

 

Click to read full article by  @ CRAIN

 

 

 

20 mins read

Move Over Instacart, OjaExpress Offers African and Caribbean Grocery Delivery

My friend, Chaz Olajide, recently connected me to OjaExpress, a startup providing grocery delivery services focusing on African and Caribbean products. Since Tony and I have become quite addicted to Instacart, because of its Whole Foods delivery service, this of course seemed like the perfect idea!

We sat down with Boyede Sobitan, CEO and Co-Founder of the Chicago-based OjaExpress. We discussed everything from businesses, pan-Africanism, African-American/Continental African relations, colonial mentality, fraternities and sororities and lots of stuff in between.


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SB: So what did you and Fola set out to achieve by launching OjaExpress?

BS: We wanted to achieve several things. One thing was to give access to African products to everyone who is interested in African culture – not just Africans. There may be people see something and say, “I love jollof rice and I want to learn how to make it.”  

So, we want to give them that access. Secondly, we want provide an opportunity to create economies for our people. What does that mean? We need drivers. We have a platform for entrepreneurs who want to get into stores, now we have a platform to get their products out there.

So in doing this, very grassroots, we went to all of the African grocery stores, which funny enough, the majority of them are not owned by African people in Chicago, or Caribbeans.

SB: Interesting. Who are they owned by?

BS: The three major ones – 88% of the share of them are owned by two Greek guys and one Mexican guy.

SB: Wooooow.

BS: So we wanted to disrupt that market because one of the things you find in Chicago is that when you walk into these stores, there is literally nobody working in there who looks like us. We’re giving our money to these entities because we need these products.

These are our cultural products that we can’t get anywhere else. So going back to the spirit of the Pan-Africanist, where everything is transactional, how do we create a system or a product where the money is cyclical, and the money returns to you? That’s where we’re going with the whole concept of Oja Express.

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SB: That is so interesting because even with the concept of Shoppe Black, some people have asked “don’t you think that’s prejudice, to just promote Black owned-businesses?” And we’re thinking, but every other community does this…and furthermore, what’s wrong with promoting ourselves so that wealth can circulate?”

BS: Collaborative work for African immigrants is foreign. People have the mentality of stacking their chips, purchasing a house back in Africa, and not really caring about what’s going on here. But, you have kids here who are struggling to find work.

I don’t have twenty-five friends I can call and say, “I want my kids to work for you.” So one of the things we echo in our team meetings is that we’re a company that’s for us, by us, and with us. As we grow, all of our vendors are Black – our lawyer, designer, printer…and we’re proud to say that. All of the things we need, we’ve sourced from our community.

SB: So what’s up with the Continental African versus African-American divide that sometimes plagues our community here in the States?

BS: Africans will come in with the mentality of “I’m not African-American” because they don’t come here [understanding] the history and legacy of slavery.

I look at African-Americans as family because honestly, you could be related to me. Also, some people come here with what Fela [Kuti] called “colonial mentality” which to me, is the same thing as “slave mentality.”

SB: Exactly! Sometimes I think that can actually be worse than slave mentality. Slavery ended here in 1865 and Brasil in 1888. Colonization/apartheid was on the continent until the 1990s.

BS: Precisely.

SB: How does this Pan-African philosophy show up in the company and how is OjaExpress different from Instacart in its philosophy?

BS: At first, a lot of stores didn’t want to work with us. One of the stores, we had a great relationship with the owner’s son, who loved what we were doing. Then we went to meet with his father who initially heard the ideas and said, “Let’s do it.” But, he didn’t know we were African.

The moment he saw us he rescinded his offer. I said, “Cool, no biggie.” Then, we met with a Mexican guy – loved it, great idea. But he looked us dead in the eye and said “how am I sure I’ll get my money from you.” We had a legal contract we were bound to right in front of him. We proceeded to bring his attention back to the contract right in front of him. So those were some challenges we faced but we didn’t want to stop.

So what we’ve done is gone into these stores and priced the items. We’re building out a network of wholesalers we can work with and have access to their goods and pay them on a consignment basis when people buy their goods.

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SB: Wow. Do you think they had preconceived notions because you all are Nigerian? Because you’re African? Or because you’re Black?

BS: I don’t want to give that too much thought. One of the people said that they prefer people stopping in their store. That just lets me know that they were old school thinking you’re going to make more money with people coming into your store, not knowing that you’re leaving money on the table.

Another concept is that they think that young Black guys are going to disrupt the market, which wasn’t the plan. Our plan was to enhance the market, but now we’re going to be one of their direct competitors.

SB: How many people do you have working for you now?

BS: Right now we’re a team of five. We’re also hiring drivers. People can go to our website and sign up to be a driver. Our CTO is from Nigeria. Come to find out, we’re from the same village.

SB: Nice.

BS: Our Chief Marketing Officer, Dineo Seakamela, is South African. And we have two students, Muyiwa Adenaike and Ololade Martins from DePaul University. That’s really cool, because now we’re giving people at a very young age an opportunity to become part owners of a company. When I was their age, I definitely wasn’t thinking about having equity in a company.

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SB: So the drivers both do the shopping and delivery?

BS: Ideally, we’d like the stores to do the shopping and packaging but since we couldn’t work that deal out with the stores, our drivers are the shoppers. They know how to pick out a great yam and know what a ripe plantain looks like.

SB: Speaking of which, did you all do a focus group to figure out which kind of products people really wanted that would allow you to focus on specific brands or  based on your own personal experiences?

BS: We did. We put out a survey. We also created a focus group.

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SB: I know that Chicago is home to one of the largest populations of Nigerians in the US. Also, many West Africans eat jollof and most of the ingredients are the same throughout different cultures. But what about other Continental Africans? Do you include ingredients and products that would appeal to people from other parts of the Continent?

BS: We do. We’re constantly evolving. But we’re also very market-dependent. So for instance, our Marketing Officer is South African but there isn’t a large South African population here in Chicago.

But, there is a growing population from Burkina Faso, as well as Gambia. So we’ve tapped into those markets. Also, Haiti has a large population here. So we have a large inventory of Caribbean goods as well.

We want to make sure that wherever you’re from the Continent or the Caribbean, we have products for you.

SB: I’m sure people will have questions about Oja Express coming other cities. What are your plans for expansion?

BS: Those plans are coming along well. It’s also dependent on future capital. So far, we’ve been self-funded but as soon as we perfect what we’re doing in Chicago, we’re planning to take this show on the road.

SB: How do you all manage this while maintaining other full-time jobs and other businesses and manage Oja Express?

BS: Communication. My partner and I work together. We split responsibilities and communicate back and forth. We have each other so that our other jobs aren’t impacted by it.

SB: Do you bring different skill sets to the table?

BS: Oh for sure. Fola is nowhere near as loquacious as I am. (Laughs). He’s a very quiet guy but he has a great technical mind. I’m the person who focuses on business strategy and who does most of the talking.

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SB: Have you all started reaching out to any venture capitalists?

BS: We’ve been focused on developing relationships. We want to make sure that we’re in a good place before attracting great investors. God willing, we can get an investor who really fits with our team, and who believes in our product and what we’re trying to do. We don’t want to take money just to take money.

SB: That makes all of the sense in the world. One of Tony’s best friends, who’s from Sierra Leone,  is working toward being able to grow enough capital to be able to support other African businesses and other Black-owned companies.

BS: That’s the same thing we want to do. We believe that we can become a 4 billion dollar business. Right now, conservatively speaking, we have an 800 million dollar market opportunity. We feel that if we can acquire a massive amount of wealth in this company, we’ll have five people who can turn around and help to fund your dream for a small piece of equity.

SB: Outside of this, what else are you involved in?

BS: I’m the president of the Nigerian-American Professionals Association.

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SB: How big is that?

BS: Over a 100 people. But we get tons of people who come out of our events. I’m just really in the community, supporting as many community-owned businesses as possible. I’m an Alpha. I hang out with the bros. I’m just trying to engage with as many people as possible.

SB: As an Alpha Chapter Delta, I’m friends with lots of Beta Chapter Bros from Howard. #fiyahandice

BS: I’m from a single letter chapter, too: Theta Chapter, here in Chicago.

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SB: Dope. I have love for everybody but for single letter chapters before.

BS: Yep.

"So you have gone and joined a cult Abi..." - *Ignore the grammatical faux pas
“So you have gone and joined a cult…?” – (Ignore the grammatical faux pas)

SB: We could probably go on all kinds of tangents but in terms of the role of non-African American Black people living in the US, what type of responsibility do you feel you have to Nigeria, if any?

BS: I cannot deny my Nigerian roots or heritage. My first degree was in nursing and my master’s degree is in health care administration. How I ended up here, I have no idea.

But I came up with an idea and put pen to paper and here we are. I definitely feel need to go back and invest, even in agricultural businesses. How do we develop non-Monsanto, organically grown food in Africa so that Africa can become the breadbasket of the world?

SB: How long have you been working on the idea itself?

BS: The idea originated in July 2014. I reached out to Fola and he made me go back and do more research. He wanted to see how serious I was. So I did, and he came back to him. We started working on it in January 2015 and went hard on it until we launched last November.

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SB: In terms of your own education in this, what has been the biggest learning curve?

BS: Usually when I go out and do work, I have the backing of a company that gives me credibility. Now I have to stand out on my own and create my credibility. Entrepreneurship is not for the faint of heart. People think you’re just going to launch a business and sell it for a billion dollars and live on a yacht.

That’s at the latter end of the entrepreneur stage. I work two full-time jobs. I’m doing at least 60 hour days. It’s easy to do because I love it. I see the potential in what we’re doing.

An African guy who heard one of our past interviews has alkaline water and contacted us to ask if we could help sell it.  Sure. So we were able to put another entrepreneur’s product on the market without the validation of major grocery deliverers in the game. Now we’re building an economic eco-system.

SB: Lastly, in terms of support, how supportive has your family been? Are they customers?

BS: (Laughs). Funny enough, a relative has actually used the app and I went to fulfill one of her orders. It’s crazy because if she knew and didn’t use the app, I wouldn’t have left the house.

Fola was out of town and I treated it like it was a real order. I went out, bought the groceries and dropped everything off to her. I even handed her a receipt and told her to go through everything. I don’t want to take anybody for granted.

Even if a neighborhood kid uses it, I want to make sure that we deliver the same consistent service for everybody. We messed up on her order, so we gave her a free bag of plantain chips, on the company. It’s been a real labor of love.

SB: Yes!

BS: What we want to do is make African and Caribbean food as American as tacos and pizza. Now, when you go Chipotle, kids think it’s American food. So why not have jollof rice and jerk chicken as part of the American culinary lexicon?

SB: You better! You better!

Shantrelle P. Lewis

9 mins read

Black Owned Businesses in Chicago

Here’s our list of 30 Black Owned Businesses in Chicago, aka “The Windy City”. We love the architecture. We also love the fact that this city is FULL of all types of amazing businesses.

Black Owned businesses in Chicago

 

FOOD

Mikkey Halsted, DJ Toure and Rico Nance, are the owners of Mikkey’s Retro Grill. This “healthy fast food” spot opened late February and is located in Hyde Park. It offers a variety of options, including gluten free, salmon, turkey and veggie burgers. They also stay open until 4am everyday except Friday!

Black Owned Businesses in Chicago

Justice of the Pies  is a bakery specializes in sweet and savory pies. Its founder, Maya-Camille Broussard created this business in memory of her late father, a criminal defense attorney with a passion for baking.

Black Owned Businesses in Chicago

For 30 years, Original Soul has offered a one-of-a-kind culinary experience for vegans and health aficionados throughout the Chicago area.

Black Owned Businesses in Chicago

Uncle Remus is a successful family-owned and operated business that has survived 50 years in the Chicagoland area.

Black Owned Businesses in Chicago

Norman’s Bistro was founded by Norman Bolden. His restaurant offers a wine bar and serves “American Creole cuisine with a Brazilian flair.”

Black Owned Businesses in Chicago

ZBerry Frozen Yogurt & Treats is a self-serve soft serve frozen yogurt and sorbet bar. During winter months, they offer flavored hot chocolates, including a non-dairy vegan option and hot apple cider!

Black Owned Businesses in Chicago

 

HAIR SALONS/BARBER SHOPS

Hyde Park Hair Salon is owned by  Ishmael Coyeand and is home to Zariff, the “First Barber of the United States” (FBOTUS). This barber shop has been dubbed “President Barack Obama’s official barbershop for over 20 years.”

Black Owned Businesses in Chicago

 

Christian Fields Style Bar is the premier natural hair salon, specializing in Locs, Loc starts and maintenance. 

Black Owned Businesses in Chicago

Chris-Tia Donaldson is the founder of  Thank God It’s Natural, a complete line of products made with natural and organic ingredients for ethnic hair and skin.

Black Owned Businesses in Chicago

Ken Burkeen is the Founder of Huetiful Salon. They focus on healthy hair treatments for wavy, curly, and kinky-curly hair that is natural, relaxed or transitioning. Locations are also in Dallas and Atlanta.

Black Owned Businesses in Chicago

DANCE STUDIOS

MADD Rhythms Dance Company is a family-owned tap dance school and company composed of young, versatile tap dancers from all over Chicago. It was founded by Bril Barrett and Martin Dumas III.

Black Owned Businesses in Chicago

 

Red Clay Dance Company is a professional touring company that creates and performs a diverse repertoire of Afro-contemporary dance which fuses traditional West African movement with contemporary dance forms. Vershawn Ward, choreographer, performer, and dance scholar, is the Founder and Executive Artistic Director.

Black Owned Businesses in Chicago

Black Ensemble Theater – Founded in 1976 by the phenomenal actress, producer, and playwright Jackie Taylor. The mission of the Black Ensemble Theater is to eradicate racism and its damaging effects upon our society through the utilization of theater arts.

Black Owned Businesses in Chicago

EVENT SPACES

The Grand Ballroom Chicago is a gracefully designed masterpiece that dates back to 1923.  Once known as Cinderella’s Ballroom the architectural design is majestic with whimsical details evocative of a fairytale evening.

Black Owned Businesses in Chicago

The Silver Room is owned by Eric Williams. This space houses a tasteful collection of eclectic jewelry, fashion, art and music.

Black Owned Businesses in Chicago

Room 43, located in the heart of the historic Bronzeville and North Kenwood area, is a classy rental venue perfect for wedding receptions, birthday parties, galas and fundraisers.

Black Owned Businesses in Chicago

ARTISTS

Dawoud Bey is a photographer and educator renowned for his large-scale color portraits of adolescents and other often marginalized subjects. His works are included in the permanent collections of numerous museums, both in the United States and abroad, including the Addison Gallery of American Art, the Art Institute of Chicago.

Black Owned Businesses in Chicago

Kerry James Marshall is known for large-scale paintings, sculptures, and other objects that take African-American life and history as their subject matter. His work often deals with the effects of the Civil Rights movement on domestic life.

Black Owned Businesses in Chicago

Amanda Williams is an artist/architect who uses her work to explore themes of personal freedom and identity. Best known for her colorful abstract paintings, she is also an accomplished photographer and installation artist.

Black Owned Businesses in Chicago

Hebru Brantley draws influence from an array of pop culture icons, comic book heroes, Japanese anime and the bold aesthetics of street art pioneers Jean-Michel Basquiat, KAWS and Keith Haring.

Black Owned Businesses in Chicago

Theaster Gates paid $1 for a dilapidated bank that closed in the 1980s. With the help of The Rebuild Foundation, (which he founded), he transformed the space into an art center that will host site-specific commissions, exhibitions and a media archive.

Black Owned Businesses in Chicago

Faheem Majeed transforms materials such as particle board, scrap metal and wood, and discarded signs and billboard remnants, breathing new life into these often overlooked and devalued materials.

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PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

Vista Equity Partners was founded in 2000 by Robert F. Smith, one of the newest(and few) Black billionaires on the Forbes list. Vista Equity Partners is a leading private equity firm focused on investing in software and technology-enabled businesses.

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Burrell Communications Group L.L.C. is one of the largest multi-cultural marketing firms in the world. It was founded in 1971 by Tom Burrell, “the first Black man in Chicago advertising” and author of “Brainwashed: Challenging the Myth of Black Inferiority.”

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FIS group is an employee owned investment manager. Tina Byles Williams is the founder, chief executive and chief investment officer of FIS Group. She is widely regarded as a trailblazer in the investment management business, particularly in identifying and investing in investment management firms that are minority and women-owned. 

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Mitchell Titus  is the largest minority-controlled accounting firm in the United States. They provide assurance, advisory and tax services to Fortune 1000 organizations, financial service firms, non-profit organizations, real estate entities, government and public sector entities and middle market companies.

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Miro Development, LLC is founded by Michael Altheimer. It is a full service real estate development company that specializes in construction, creating lucrative investment strategies and property management. Miro also offers concierge services, which include residential home cleaning, as well as dry cleaning pick-up and delivery.

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HOSPITALITY

Welcome Inn Manor is one of Chicago’s highest rated B&B’s. Built in 1893, this Queen Anne historic home is 12 minutes away from the center of Chicago’s Downtown Loop. It is owned owned and operated by Mell Monroe, the official innkeeper, and his wife of 15 years, Angela Higginbotham.

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The Chicago South Loop Hotel is owned by Jimmy White, Louis Dodd and Dr. Floyd Mix. It is located in the heart of the historic Bronzeville District and South Loop Area, and moments away from all of the downtown excitement.

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There you have it, 30 Black owned businesses in Chicago! Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to get more great content as soon as it’s available!

-Tony O. Lawson

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