Black History Month kicks off Saturday with Nashville Black Market – Tennessean

Black History Month starts Saturday, kicking off with the third Nashville Black Market, an event aiming to increase networking and support for African-American owned businesses and entrepreneurs across Music City and beyond.

Nearly 1,000 people are expected to attend the free event held from noon to 5 p.m. at Saint James Missionary Baptist Church, 600 28th Avenue North, said Carlos Partee, a local entrepreneur who co-owns the black market with Javon Jones, both from Nashville.

At least 45 vendors are expected to be on hand including Franklin’s Fruit Tea, Threads by Dreads, Memphis Wings, Peach Cobbler Truck, Silk & Satin Beauty, 360 Inventory Solutions and Granny’s Conversations.

In addition to food trucks, expect music and raffles, said Partee, who owns the online clothing brand Cashville Etc. and also sells his products at several convenience stores across Nashville.

Cashville Etc, a homegrown brand, preserves the nostalgia of Tennessee and provides a platform for its culture, Partee said. The brand’s mission is to tell Nashville’s forgotten story through merchandise, cinema and curated events. 

“A lot of African American vendors are middlemen,” Partee said Wednesday. “Most of the time they create their own projects or — nine times out of 10, they resell them after buying them from a distributor.”

“The market is extremely special because we (Partee and Jones) are both entrepreneurs and saw the need there wasn’t any one space to sell our products,” Partee said. “This year we decided to do it to kick off Black History Month to give a platform to all businesses so everyone can showcase their items.”

For more information email the nashvilleblackmarket@gmail.com

Reach Natalie Neysa Alund at nalund@tennessean.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.

Published 10:57 AM EST Jan 29, 2020