Black Owned Businesses

Saturday, Feb. 22, the next iteration of the Black-Owned Northwest Arkansas Business Expo will be at the Fayetteville Town Center. Last week, organizers Jasmine Hudson and J’Aaron Merchant came to the Anthony and Susan Hui News Studio to discuss the expo.

In this week’s excerpt of “I Am Northwest Arkansas,” host Randy Wilburn talks with Jasmine Hudson and J’Aaron Merchant, two of the three women behind Black Paper Party. Black Paper Party fills retail gaps regarding holiday decorations and begins with a simple question: Why should the elves, Santas and fireside families on gift wrapping all look the same?

Ten Black women business owners will graduate from the 2023 Women’s Economic Mobility Hub in October. Grantees in the cohort receive $5,000 and attend a six-month training program. Two of the cohort’s grantees are based Northwest Arkansas and Ozarks at Large’s Anna Pope met with one of them earlier this week.

On today's show, a grantee in the Women's Economic Mobility Hub speaks about her business and experience in the program. Plus, the Bentonville Public Library expansion is underway, local music and a conversation with current GOP presidential candidate and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson about his efforts to qualify for the first party debate.

February's Lunch Hour was a celebration of music, food, and community at the Black-Owned Business Expo in the Fayetteville Town Center. The live conversation of this Lunch Hour, features a number of Black business owners who offer their thoughts and insights on how to express their power and drive for the black businesses in Arkansas.

Daymara Baker aims to build an inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem.

On today's show, the "Undisciplined" podcast recorded an episode on Black erasure live from the Squire Jehagan Outreach Center in Fayetteville. An Arkansas senate bill aims to prohibit local restrictions on short-term rentals. Plus, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art sets up for its new exhibitions, the Black-Owned NWA Business Expo is scheduled for next week and more.

About 60 Black-owned businesses, music and food from Northwest Arkansas are part of the Black-Owned Northwest Arkansas Business Expo. Black-Owned Northwest Arkansas and Blackground Agency are bringing the event to the Fayetteville Towns Center on Feb. 25.

The annual business expo from Black-Owned NWA is tomorrow at TheatreSquared in downtown Fayetteville. We talked with three of the four organizers (Sierra Polk, Jasmine Hudson, J'Aaron Merchant) this morning about what we can expect.

The Women’s Foundation of Arkansas has released a multimedia report of a new study exploring the opportunities, barriers and resource gaps for women of…