As Black Business Month ends, Lincoln entrepreneurs say they need support year-round

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — As we enter the last days of August, Black Business Month comes to an end, leaving small business owners calling for action.

Spotlighting Black-owned businesses throughout the month can bring traction, and that support aids their livelihood.

But the Malone Community Center’s director of teen programming and community engagement, Ishma Valenti, said businesses need consistent support.

“Black Business, and Black entrepreneurship in general, is the single most important economic factor to the advancement of Black people, and the city of Lincoln,” he said.

Valenti said that the need for diversity is always a hot topic but that “it’d be great to not have a knee-jerk reaction to either a calendar month or an event.”

“I think that a goal should be for Black communities, not only in Lincoln, but across the nation, to try to restore, at least close to the levels of, Black entrepreneurship before integration,” he said.

For businesses like Sarah’s Comfort Foods here in Lincoln, owner Sarah Wells-Britt says, that support determines longevity and profits.

“People don’t realize that during Black History Month and times when we are supporting Black-owned businesses, that’s where you do see a rise or in an increase in our sales,” she said.

Wells-Britt said support quickly dies off, causing struggles the rest of the year.

“I think that it’s very important, because of our lack of resources, we’re just not getting them at the same rates as our counterparts,” she said.

The call to action, she says, is to support Black-owned businesses in whatever way possible.

“Without the community, we would be sinking,” Wells-Britt said.

“So if you can support, however you’re able to do so, find out how you can do that,” she said.