Halifax pop-up retailers have fun Black-owned companies

Eight distributors gathered in Halifax on Saturday for a pop-up store showcasing native Black-owned companies, organized by the Black Enterprise Initiative and Develop Nova Scotia.

Vendor Jessica Bowden, used this platform for extra than simply publicity.

“Individuals need to be allies,” Bowden stated. “By carrying these items, you’re serving to to provide again to the neighborhood.”

For 30 years, Bowden has labored carefully with the group Youth for Now. Extra not too long ago, she has been promoting attire selling the Black Lives Matter motion, with a lot of the proceeds going again to the neighborhood.

“We assist present youngsters round Nova Scotia with backpacks for varsity, one thing not many are lucky to have,” Bowden stated.

She famous that it’s essential to assist the youth within the province and that begins by being extra conscious.

“They are saying it takes a village to boost a baby,” Bowden stated. “Effectively we’re a village now.”

Cedric Smiley, one other enterprise proprietor, was establishing his line of shirts celebrating Nova Scotia’s Viola Desmond.

“This isn’t simply Black historical past however world historical past,” Smiley stated. “I simply discovered it legitimate due to the truth that she was 10 years earlier than Rosa Parks and it’s an untold story.”

Initially from the U.S., Smiley stated it wasn’t till he moved to Nova Scotia that he realized that there’s extra Black historical past to have fun. He stated he makes use of these pop-up retailers to proceed to unfold consciousness and spotlight Black excellence.

“It hasn’t been highlighted,” he stated. “I believe that it’s been taken as a right, shoved beneath a rug and neglected. I believe it must be highlighted to a degree the place extra youth can seize on to it.”

Distributors are set to proceed their pop-up retailers on the Halifax waterfront on Sunday.