The Shenandoah Community Capital Fund celebrated the end of National Entrepreneurship Month with a thought piece on the renaissance of Black-owned businesses in the Southern Shenandoah Valley.
The article was published on SCCF’s blog on Monday, Nov. 28, and was written in collaboration with The Walker Entrepreneurship Program in Lexington. Launched in August 2020, the Walker Program is a community initiative that helps jumpstart businesses owned by people of color in Lexington, Buena Vista, and Rockbridge County.
SCCF has been working with The Walker Program as part of the Community Navigator Pilot Program to help support The Walker Program’s efforts.
“During its first year in the program, the Walker program provided more than 60 training hours and a total of 300 individual counseling hours to the 26 entrepreneurs in their program,” said Anika Horn with SCCF.
“A renaissance of Black business in the Southern Valley” is a celebration of the Black-owned businesses that have been successful in the area, as well as an acknowledgement of the work that still needs to be done.
“I don’t know if the importance of the Black dollar is a concept that is understood on a widespread level just yet, quite frankly I’m still learning, but I hope that is one of many things we can continue to educate on in an effort to see systemic change.”, said Gabrielle Cash, director of The Walker Program.
The full article is available on the SCCF website.
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Crystal Graham
