About a dozen black-owned businesses filled the second-floor ballroom of Armstrong State University’s Student Union on Monday for the Black Women Empowerment Expo.
The expo is part of Armstrong’s busy schedule of events for Black History Month, organized by the Office of Multicultural Affairs. The event featured a variety of different businesses, from hair care to skin care to gifts, consulting and food.
Vernecia Collins, a senior public health major at Armstrong, said she was browsing the different businesses and hoped to attend the natural hair forum later in the day.
“That’s a big thing right now. A lot of people want to go back to their natural hair,” she said. “We’re more aware of the chemicals and how they can damage your hair.
Jabril Waajid displayed products and information from his business The Nappy Hutt, a natural hair care and braid salon at 5224 Skidaway Road.
“We’ve been here for four years, and our main purpose is to service individuals who are transitioning out of chemical relaxers,” he said.
Through styling and product options, Waajid said, his clients are able to embrace their natural hair, a resurgent trend in the African-American community. His sister, Taliah Waajid, holds a natural hair show twice annually in Atlanta at the Georgia International Convention Center.
“There’s not only a physical aspect, but a psychological aspect of transitioning,” he said. “In our community, we never really experienced wearing our natural hair — it plays mentally on being accepted in their workplace and by their significant others.”
Another vendor at the expo, Sharonda Johnson, offered life coaching, speaking and training for women who want to, as she put it, “step up their game, remove the fog and live a purposeful, kick-*** life.”
“I work with women who commit to struggling to commit to their real selves,” she said.
Attending the expo, she said, allowed her to network and share her experience with other minority women.
“Often times, especially in the African-American community, self-help and asking for help — reaching outside of yourself — is not always easy for us to do,” she said. “We’re taught to be strong, to take care of ourselves and to grin and bear it.”
While students milled about, some took advantage of raffles and free massages that were being offered.
Melaijah Armstrong, a freshman, browsed baked goodies at the table of Belinda Baptiste, owner of the Unforgettable Bakery and Café at 238 Eisenhower Dr.
Aside from baked goodies, Baptiste said, her business also supports a ministry in her home country of Haiti.
“It’s been hard, but we’ve been in business for six years, and now we’re starting to say ‘We can do this,’ but we still need the support of the community at large,” she said. “It’s a bakery with a purpose.”
On the Web
For a full schedule of Black History Month events at Armstrong, go to armstrong.edu/multicultural