African American vendors provide products and inspiration

From clothing, jewelry, live entertainment, haircuts, food and more — everyone attending LLCC was invited to interact and learn more about the culture, lifestyle and business practices of local black business owners at African American History Month Food & Vendor Day.

“It’s really cool that the school hosts this for students,” said student Madison Mings. “Having an interactive and comfortable environment for students to learn about black culture and talk to other people is great.”

Some business owners sold items from bigger retailers, while others, like Beck & Call, built their businesses from the ground up.

Beck & Call is a Springfield business where people are hired to essentially do anything clients ask — from running errands, to picking up groceries, to walking their dogs and more.

Beck & Call is part of a bigger co-operation called UMOJA. UMOJA stated their goal at the event was to not only spread the word to potential customers, but to also recruit employees.

Another home business looking to gain customers and spread the word was Curvy Closet. This company started as a hobby, and turned into a business. Owner Tia Mahr’s goal is to offer cool clothes that are affordable and size-inclusive. She expressed that including everyone in fashion is important and that everybody should have something they feel good in, and that’s why she made her own plus-size brand. She also has a smaller business where she makes baby clothing called TuTu’s by Tia.

Not unlike Mahr of Curvy Closet — Kevia Maloney, knitter and designer of K-Nits by Kevia, makes custom knit afghans, socks, blankets, scarves, cowls and even more, offering her products through her online business for customers. When she’s not doing that, she works as a representative at the Springfield and Central Illinois African American History Museum.

Many free services where offered at the event as well — like the health table supplied by the Springfield Urban League.

Worked by Brittany, the health table offered an array of information on sexual health items students may normally not have access to outside of school — like lubricant, free condoms, and various pamphlets and informative articles on health problems and sexual wellness for students to take. The Springfield Urban League offers other free services for LLCC students throughout the year as well, like HIV testing and health screenings. Brittany stressed that offering these services for all types of people was necessary, especially for young students.

If students weren’t picking up snacks or getting their hair trimmed, they were definitely jamming along to the band. Jazz by Footprints, staffed by Virgil Rhodes, a retired professor of business law at LLCC, played an array of traditional jazz tunes during the event. While some members said they performed at the event because it was something they enjoyed doing for the students, Rhodes had another message.

“To make young people more aware of the history behind the music,” stated Rhodes. He also stressed he wished young people where more comfortable to ask questions about the music, the culture and its importance.

LLCC took the month of February to emphasize and highlight the significance of Black History and why it’s important. Through the events hosted on campus, students and faculty were encouraged to explore and learn more about a different cultural side of society that exists with within the community, and why the month itself is celebrated.

The African American Food & Vendor Day was an amazing opportunity for everyone to meet and interact with local black business owners and learn more about their business practices within the Springfield area.

Sage Gass can be reached at [email protected].