6 Black-owned businesses in Boston to support on Juneteenth

Freedom.

It’s the seven-lettered word that almost defines Juneteenth, the annual holiday that celebrates the historic day in 1865 when the last enslaved African Americans were told they were liberated.

This holiday has been long celebrated in the African American community, but it became an official federal holiday on June 17, 2021, when President Joe Biden signed it into law.

During Juneteenth, Black businesses are highlighted as a way to support the African American community, which has been harmed by economic inequality, according to the Center for American Progress.

Here are some Black-owned businesses in Boston you can support this Juneteenth.

Last May, Grace by Nia, a popular jazz bar and club in Boston’s Seaport district, opened its doors as a Black-owned speakeasy in 2023. This swanky restaurant offers live music, a lounge and a menu filled with traditional African American foods such as gumbo greens, cajun jambalaya and creole pasta, according to its menu.

The owner, Nia Grace, is one of the few business owners of color in the area. Earlier this year, Grace announced that she’d be opening a second location in Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut, MassLive previously reported.

Grace by Nia is located at 60 Seaport Blvd. #325 in Boston and is open on Wednesday and Thursday from 5 p.m. to 12 a.m., Friday and Saturday from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m, according to the speakeasy’s website.

Grace by Nia is also located at 350 Trolley Line Blvd. in Ledyard, Connecticut, and is open on Thursday from 5 p.m. to 12 a.m., Friday from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m., Saturday for brunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and for dinner from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m., and Sunday for brunch from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., according to the speakeasy’s website.

As Boston’s only Black-owned bookstore, Frugal Bookstore has promoted books — many of which focus on people of color — since 2008, according to the bookstore’s website.

During the early months of the 2020 pandemic, the bookstore experienced financial upset, GBH reported. In need of support, Leonard Egerton and Clarrissa Cropper launched a GoFundMe campaign for Frugal Bookstore. But after Black Lives Matter protests sparked across the nation in the wake of George Floyd’s death, interest in the bookstore grew — massively.

Egerton said the bookstore got 20,000 orders in four days, GBH reported.

Business has quieted down since 2020, GBH said. Customers at Frugal Bookstores can find classics such as August Wilson’s “Fences,” and Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye” and newer novels such as Tomi Adeyemi’s “Children Of Blood and Bone.”

Frugal Bookstore is located at 57 Warren St. in Roxbury and is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., according to the store’s website.

Boston While Black connects Black professionals, students and entrepreneurs in Boston, according to the organization’s website.

The membership organization was founded in 2020 by Sheena Collier, who moved to Boston roughly two decades ago to pursue a degree from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education, according to the organization’s website.

Collier said while she lived in the city, she missed the connection to Black culture she found in Albany — her home city — and Atlanta, where she attended school, according to the organization’s website. So, she started to form connections with other Black people on her own.

Boston While Black hosts several events, meet-ups and an annual trip to Martha’s Vineyard as a way to engage its current 746 members, according to the organization.

Membership to Boston While Black can be found here on its website.

OneUnited Bank is the nation’s largest Black-owned bank.

The bank offers several financial products and services, including personal and business banking, loans and online banking options, according to its website.

The bank has a specific focus on uplifting and empowering the Black community through financial literacy and economic inclusion, according to the bank.

OneUnited Bank is headquartered at 100 Franklin St. in Boston. The bank is open from 9 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, according to the bank’s website.

Pure Oasis is Boston’s first marijuana dispensary and Massachusetts’ first black-owned cannabis retail outlet, MassLive previously reported.

Founded by owners Kevin Hart and Kobie Evan, Pure Oasis is also the first business to open through one of the Cannabis Control Commission’s equity programs, an initiative designed to assist people and communities negatively harmed by the war on drugs.

Some of the employees who work at Pure Oasis have criminal backgrounds. Part of the business’s mission is to give back and give people a second chance.

At Pure Oasis, customers can purchase pre-rolled joints, edibles and cannabis cartridges and other marijuana-related products, according to the dispensary’s website.

Pure Oasis is located at 430 Blue Hill Ave. in Boston and is open every day from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., according to the dispensary’s website.

Pure Oasis is also located at 85 Devonshire St. in Boston and is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m, according to the dispensary’s website.

Final Touch Boutique is a Black-owned clothing store in Roxbury.

The store, which was founded in 2005, offers customers a variety of clothing options, such as dresses, tops and leggings. The store’s in-store product collections are limited to three pieces of any style, according to Final Touch Boutique’s website.

Final Touch Boutique is open from Monday through Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Thursday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and it is closed on Sundays, according to the store’s website.

Prior material from MassLive was used in this article.

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