For Juneteenth Congresswoman Kathy Castor did a bus tour to visit a few local Black-owned businesses in St.Petersburg. The tour was to help highlight how small businesses are not being seen enough.
The first stop was at the Successful Futures Tutoring Service. Doretha Edwards in the owner of the tutor center with 48 students.
Her tutoring services are for GD prep, SAT, ACT prep, science, social studies and any other subjects students may need.
Edwards said she pays bills and has no profits, but she loves to be a teacher and help students grow.
“I probably could be making a lot more to help, but right now, I’m kind of like, paying the bills and investing. I’m not really earning like a profit so it’s really hard, but it’s being done,” Edwards said.
Castor said she is going to try and find ways to get her more exposure and funding and that is why the tutoring center was a stop on the tour.
“So part of the reason we’re doing this on Juneteenth is to encourage others to find you and get the word out,” Castor said.
After taking some selfies and “family” photos, everyone got on the bus to head to their next stop, which was the Community Tech House.
Lynn Johnson is the owner of the tech house that is hidden inside of a hair saloon called House of Styles.
Johnson opened her business in 2020 when COVID-19 hit after being laid off. With her background in web development and technology, she found a space to use her education to help others.
She offers how to code, use Microsoft products and more. She also recycles computers that are donated to her and will provide them to those who need them.
“I call it conquering your technology variance,” Johnson said.
After some more photos and a brief hello to the hair salon, it was off to the last location.
The last business was called Central Station Barbershop and Grooming where Antonio Brown brings a new spinoff to what a haircut means to young boys.
At this barbershop, Brown provides reading lessons with cultural books for the children who come in.
“What benefits them is they stay out of trouble, have financially successful lives, you have this relation that you built and they will come back and ask for advice,” Brown said.
His son said it was a little unorthodox to open a barbershop that also provides reading and life lessons, but it warms his heart to see that he’s out there helping the community.
“It’s a great place to build self-esteem,” he said.
This is a place to have your first haircut and find your first book that a young Black child can identify with.
On his barbershop website families can learn more about how to donate books or register to get free haircuts and books through the Competitive Readers Coalition. With this program, Brown can help with 24 free haircuts per child and 24 books per child a year.
Brown was one of the 2024 Black History Month Honorees for the Barbershop Book Club.
At the end of the tour Castor’s final message to the travelers was “We just have to do more to make those connections and look up these businesses.”