The month of August provides an opportunity to celebrate National Black Business Month.
In Connecticut, Shop Black CT allows people to find Black-owned businesses while also connecting Black businesses with one another.
Shop Black CT was founded by Sarah Heath in 2020; the site began with 150 businesses and has since grown to promote over 2,000 Black-owned businesses.
“We’ve heard from business owners that there has been an increase in sales, foot traffic, website traffic and also for businesses to connect with one another,” Heath said.
Yvette Young with Shop Black CT said the website has also helped to increase visibility and access to those businesses.
“It wasn’t impossible before but its more accessible is what I would say and there’s more people who are putting attention to this issue,” Young said.
Mae Flower and Gift Shop, located at 302 Dixwell Ave. in New Haven, is one of the many businesses on the site.
At the shop, owner Nethia Joyner specializes in flower arrangements for all occasions ranging from funerals, to weddings and birthdays.
She said being part of Shop Black CT has been helpful in getting more customers to her store front.
She believes it’s important for people to support Black-owned businesses as another way for them to give back to the community.
“The connectivity, seeing the different things that we all do and being able to support one another in the business, that’s what makes it so great to me,” Joyner said.
Sean Reeves Sr., owner of PrintzOnDeck LLC, located at 266 Dixwell Ave., is another business benefitting from ShopBlackCT.com.
“Now I don’t have to worry about when clients are looking for a Black-owned business, they know where they need to go and it’s been showing,” Reeves Sr. said.
While he does some printing out of his shop, he said the space has transformed into a space for youth opportunities as well.
“Since July of last year, we took on a lot of responsibility and actually started incorporating Youth At Work responsibilities and becoming a workforce development space for our Youth At Work teens as a way of giving back,” Reeves Sr. said.
The program offers financial literacy, conflict management and entrepreneurial information.
He believes it’s important for young Black boys to be surrounded and mentored by successful Black men.
“My goal has always been to create a system of success that works for us inside our community [Dixwell neighborhood],” Reeves Sr. said.
State Representative Kadeem Roberts (D-Norwalk) is passionate about promoting Black-owned businesses.
“That’s what people don’t realize when you talk about Black businesses, you’re going to Black business and you’re now circulating that money back into the black community,” Roberts said.
He added it’s important to continue supporting minority and Black-owned businesses in efforts to give everyone a chance at success.
“Respectfully we do have to work a lot harder than our other counterparts because a lot of times they come from generational wealth and we’re trying to actually grab that generational wealth, but to give back to the community is a big part of this actual concept of Black businesses,” Roberts said.
