02/01/2022
Since February is , and I thought I’d start the month off with this post.
I picked up my office key fob on December 1st and never got to share the post because I just immediately started moving things in. I typically forget to share my wins cause I'm always in the moment of them, enjoying them, and then another win happens. 😁
But this one hit differently. I decided to stop and share this one because of the magnitude of this particular win. It's so much bigger than I am. I'm a serial social entrepreneur, and EVERYTHING that I do has a community focus or give-back component to it. Honestly, I don't see how most businesses don't make that part of their company culture, but that's another post for another day.
Anywho, when I told my dad about my new office space and the location (this isn't my first office, it's my 3rd) because I needed to borrow his truck to move a few big things, he asked me to give him the address again. I repeated, and my dad got quiet. He smiled and then said, "That's great firstborn (he doesn't call me by birth certificate name, it’s always been firstborn). Did you know that during my childhood, we (Blacks) could drive down the street, but we couldn't have any business on this street?" Now I'm keen on history, especially regarding African Americans and Native Americans; however, there is always room for the parts of history that they don't often teach in school. So I'm sending a special thank you to my daddy for always "schooling" me on history.
That one sentence was so impactful at that moment because here I am, getting keys to an office on Fayetteville St., and not even 60 years ago, I would have been denied this opportunity, all because of the color of my skin. I don't take this lightly. Honestly, it's quite a magnanimous event, one that's due fireworks and a parade if you were to ask me. However, I'll settle for the happiness that I feel in receiving the keys, the wholeness that I feel in knowing that my ancestors and elders would be proud, and the hope that I can positively impact my community on Fayetteville St. and beyond.
I hope you're choosing to build a better world that is more inclusive. I hope you're planting seeds of greatness so that those who come behind you have the necessary tools to succeed and continue the much-needed work of making this a place where we can all thrive.
My name is Rada and I am Black History.
Excerpt below from www.downtownraleigh.org
Black Main Street emerged as a commercial district in Downtown Raleigh in the 1910s and 1920s on East Hargett Street between Fayetteville Street and Blount Street. This two-block area developed as racial segregation practices became more common, forcing Black-owned businesses to relocate to East Hargett Street. Black Main Street would evolve into the epicenter of Black business and life in Raleigh. At its height, Black Main Street was home to 50+ Black-owned businesses namely medical offices, law offices, a hotel, restaurants, barbershops, and retailers. � �As desegregation advanced, Black-owned businesses on East Hargett Street began relocating to other parts of Wake County. At the same time Black customers gained the ability to shop in other parts of Raleigh. By the 1960s, Black Main Street experienced a decline as suburban shopping centers grew in popularity resulting in businesses leaving the commercial district and buildings being lost to urban renewal. The legacy of Raleigh’s Black Main Street continues today as more Black-owned businesses open and thrive in downtown Raleigh.
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LOCATION
136 E Hargett St�Raleigh, NC 27601
