Motown Museum will celebrate black businesses and the entrepreneurial legacy of Motown Records’ founding Gordy family as part of Black History Month celebrations. The Black Legacy program runs 6-8 p.m. Feb. 20 at the Wayne State Industry Innovation Center (formerly NextEnergy Center) at 461 Burroughs St. in Detroit. Attendees will hear from several black-owned businesses…
Malik Yakini came to cooperative economics as a student at Eastern Michigan University in the mid-1970s when he started a food-buying club. “I wasn’t thinking of myself as a food activist,” he says, “I was thinking of myself as an activist in the black liberation movement.”He viewed controlling food retail and production as important aspects…
Working with a family member even on small projects can be challenging. But imagine trying to renovate a house, decorate it and open it as a bed and breakfast. That kind of a partnership can’t work if you have sibling rivalry. Sisters Roderica and Francina James are an example of how two siblings can work…
Being a Black business owner in the U.S. means facing more obstacles, particularly when trying to obtain a business loan. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency, minority business owners face greater disparity than non-minority business owners in regard to access to capital. Detroit is no exception to this. However, it is…
A bad decision at 22 cost Detroit native Roby Davis his freedom. “I was involved in a robbery,” he said. “I have to say I knew better wound up going to prison.” But Davis was sentenced beyond the guidelines, up to 75 years behind bars. “I could do better, I knew I could do better,”…
Ellis Island Tea specializes in producing all natural ready to drink beverages in the company’s own state-of-the-art beverage production and co-packing facility located in Detroit. Because taking a local brand national is no small task, we wanted to find out more about the founder and CEO, Nailah Ellis-Brown and her brand made from a 100…
The first Metro Detroit Black Restaurant Week, hosted by BlackMetroEats.com and TheStrangeRootsBox, started yesterday. BlackMetroEats.com co-founders Lauren Bates and Kwaku Osei-Bonsu, who also founded TheStrangeRootsBox subscription box service, organized the event to celebrate and bring more awareness to black-owned restaurants in and around Detroit. The event will feature Caribbean, French and West African cuisines, among…
Not only is Detroit home to national treasures like the Motown Museum and the Charles H. Wright Museum of African-American History, its a city where you can find an array of Black owned businesses that are sure to please. We’ve listed a few. Black Owned Businesses in Detroit Ellis Island Tropical Tea is a flavorful hibiscus…