GADSDEN COUNTY, Fla. (WTXL) — Gadsden County has a full day of activities planned Saturday to help usher in Juneteenth weekend, which commemorates the day enslaved African Americans first learned of their freedom.
The day starts with the second annual Black Biz Crawl and Expo from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. it showcases business owners from various industries, including fine dining, retail, real estate, mental health counseling, and more.
Latonya Baker of the Tau Theta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated will be attending as both event chairman and business-owner. "Our national initiative involves building economic wealth, and we wanted to be able to bring businesses together and showcase their products and their services just by empowering them and also inspiring other people that may possibly want to be business owners," she said. As owner of One 15 Consulting and Investment Solutions, she says, "It means a lot because, you know, just being able to get out and share my business with others, have others come to me that may not know about the business, I'll be able to speak with them and talk to them one on one you know, just about establishing generational wealth."
It's wealth that benefits the Gadsden county community as well.
"We have a lot of small businesses from Chatahoochee to Havana," Gadsden County Board of Commissioners Vice Chairman Eric Hinson explains. He says he's eager to see business owners and community members interact during The Black Biz Crawl and Expo, and that the event goal is two-fold. "We don't just want people to just come out here and sell, we want people to get resources."
Gadsden County County leaders will be on-site to help guide business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs toward financial assistance. "For instance we're gonna have Apalachee Regional planning perhaps, who will be here, too, as well," Hinson said. "They can talk about funding just for rural areas. ... When our businesses flourish, the community flourish."
Each business owner will be able to take center stage during the event and promote their business. They'll also have live entertainment and yoga for you to enjoy as you visit.
Following the business expo, the county will also host a unity celebration with the theme of Breaking Every Chain From 5 to 9 p.m.
The family friendly occasion will feature an awards awards ceremony recognizing the county's unsung heroes, live vocal performances, poem recitations, line dancing, food trucks, and more.
