Over 50 Louisville, KY ‘Black-Owned Businesses’ will celebrate Juneteenth 2020, by offering discounts on their products and services during the 3rd Annual 502 Black Business Week.
502 Black Business Week organizer Tiandra Robinson created the week-long event to celebrate and bring awareness to Juneteenth – as many African-Americans consider it to be more culturally significant than the 4th of July.
Juneteenth is the oldest national celebration representing the ending of Chattel Slavery in America, which enslaved 10 – 12 million Africans in the Americas between 1619 – 1865. Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, as the day the Union Soldiers arrived in Galveston, TX with the news that the Civil War was over and all enslaved black people were now free.
Ironically, the Emaciation Proclamation signed by President Abraham Lincoln was enacted on January 1, 1863, and changed the legal status of 3.5 million enslaved African-Americans, from slave to free. However, it took two-and-a-half years for the news to reach Galveston.
Throughout many states in the American South – Juneteenth is the official Independence Day for African-Americans. In many regions Juneteenth is known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Cel-Liberation Day or the Black Fourth of July.
The celebrations began within the Black church community of Texas in the late 1800s but became more commercialized throughout the South during the 1920s and 1930s. The large gatherings originally were similar to Family Reunions within the African-American community and often featured culturally adored food, music and clothing.
Over the past 25 years, the celebrations have evolved into expositions that feature health & wellness, African -American history and vendor exhibits. Over the past three years, Mrs. Tiandra Robinson of T. Marie Consulting in Louisville has added her own twist to the Juneteenth legacy.
In 2017, she created “502 Black Business Week”, which highlights Louisville-area Black-Owned Businesses throughout the entire week that encapsulates Juneteenth. Beginning three years ago, with only a handful of businesses – the event has grown to cover over 50 local Black-Owned Businesses in 2020.
“The mission of 502 Black Business Week is to highlight and promote black-owned businesses in Louisville, it’s a celebration of Junteenth and works to encourage patronage during that week and beyond. Businesses offer special discounts and promotions during the week. During the Covid-19 pandemic it’s more important now to make sure that we are supporting them monetarily.Black owned doesn’t mean black only, these are businesses that cater to all walks of life, so it’s important to support not only them as a black-owned businesses but as small businesses.” – Tiandra Robinson
Brad Harrison is a journalist/motivational speaker/entrepreneur and on-air personality. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications with cum laude honors from the University of Louisville. In October 2015, he started UrbanMaxx Magazine to provide positive role models for Urban residents that reside in at-risk-communities and lack positive leadership in their lives.
For booking or advertising – contact Brad Harrison at bradharrison@urbanmaxx.com