As Corpus Christi sees more economic development in the African American community, growth is also seen during major holidays like Juneteenth.
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Music, food and fun have a way of bringing people together.
“The sense of unity, the sense of collaboration within the Black community, it’s been lost the last couple of years but I feel like with that new Facebook page ‘The Black Corpus Christi Community,’ it’s bringing many different individuals all together,” Clifton Pope with the Corpus Christi Black Chamber of Commerce said.
The Facebook group has now climbed to over 1,500 members and is also bringing a boom to many local Black businesses.
“That’s the purpose of our third annual state of the Black Business Luncheon is just promoting and empowering into people’s minds economic development,” Pope said.
While these citywide events are a major factor in the financial prosperity of the Black community, the influx of knowledge thanks to social media follows in second place.
“There has always been this concept that we don’t support each other, but part of the problem was information,” Mary Kay Senior Sales Director Karlene Lyn said.
Many vendors who participate in these local events, are also reflecting on the expansion of Juneteenth on the citywide level.
“At first Juneteenth, when I first moved here, it was at Hillcrest Park,” Reggae Hour CEO Eric Williams said. “Hillcrest park is kind of a smaller park compared to the park where they have it at now, which is Cole Park, which has a big stadium and now we have a lot of entertainment.”
The African American business community varies from the beauty industry all the way to musicians like Claudia Melton, but one thing that they all have in common, is the dedication to support one another.
