
With the success of their annual Juneteenth event, the Melanin Market blocked off Soutel Rd., near the Legends Center for their ‘Northside Love’ community block festival.

On the main stage contestants were judged in a poetry contest, with local entertainers sharing their best renditions of jazz, R&B, gospel and hip hop. Thousands of attendees had the opportunity to register to vote, meet candidates and elected officials.

The Melanin Market began as a pathway to the products and services of minority-owned businesses and is now a location for community investment and a safe space for families to enjoy dynamic cultures and minority owned entrepreneurial platforms.
During the first year of the pandemic and amid protests for racial justice following the murder of George Floyd, tech companies such as Google, Yelp and DoorDash started “Black-owned” labeling campaigns to encourage customer support for restaurants and other businesses.
But new research, using cellphone location data, shows that visits to restaurants that identify as Black-owned, compared to those without a label, dropped off after some initial spikes and were inconsistent across the country
All is not lost at the popularity and support of black-owned businesses. While the pandemic has disproportionately hurt preexisting Black businesses – who face steeper declines in sales and a harder time accessing capital than their white counterparts – it has also spurred the creation of new Black firms.

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