Warm and pleasant greetings to all. We hope you are enjoying a good week.
It’s my pleasure to greet others when out and about, especially when we are close to verbally sharing greetings. You make my day! I’m good to know the feeling is mutual!
National Black Business Month is observed in August. NBBM celebrates and supports Black-owned businesses and entrepreneurs across the United States.
“NBBM encourages consumers to shop with Black-owned firms, highlights the challenges these entrepreneurs face, and pushes for greater equity in business and finance.” (Awarenessdays.com) So, for this reason, we mention some interesting Black establishments in Mississippi that have kept business operating across the years.
Among the oldest Black businesses in Mississippi are three establishments you may know something about. The W.H. Jefferson Funeral Home, established in 1894 in Vicksburg, is recognized as the state’s oldest Black-owned business and a historic institution.
Marshall’s Music and Bookstore, located on Farish Street in Jackson, has been operating for 80 years and is recognized as one of the oldest Black-owned book stores in America. I’ve been to this store several times and purchased items.
Mound Bayou, founded in 1887 by formerly enslaved people like Isaiah T. Montgomery, stands as the oldest surviving all-Black incorporated municipality in the United States, built entirely on Black economic independence and entrepreneurship. Mound Bayou, like any town, experiences some change.
It was interesting to see how much has changed over the years since I last visited. It is amazing to drive through and see old and new business establishments, mobile homes and built homes where once was open land. The directions of the new highway gave a glimpse to an open view of a growing town with so much history.
Just a week or two ago, our family rode to Mound Bayou with Leslie on one of her several trips she’s been making during this year.
Mound Bayou was my go-to town when I lived in Cleveland for two-and-a-half years while working my first assignment with the Bolivar County Extension Service.
Leslie is in the process of writing and publishing some astounding history of Mound Bayou that she’s compiling from her on-site visits.
We can recognize Black Business Month by shopping intentionally, using social media to spread the word and participating whenever the business hosts an activity or offers a “special” from their business establishment.
I had in mind (and it’s yet in mind) organizing a kitchen drawer that’s simply a clutter trap. This would be an inside job between summer and fall, so I’ve got time. This drawer has always been the “just in case” drawer, and it’s been worth the purpose. I know there’s no need for old cable, plugs, wires, nails and sockets no longer fitting anything. So I’ll just dump the entire drawer and make a clean start for something better (when it comes back to mind).
Enjoy the rest of summer. Be blessed.
