Black-owned businesses in Sacramento share the spotlight in Kwanzaa marketplace
The face slowly took shape on the table under Chataun Reaves’ fingers; rich cinnamon hues and the jeweled tones of her headdress coming to life, bead by shimmering bead.
“It was a hobby five years ago,” Reaves said, by way of explanation, poring over her latest portrait. “I needed something to help my mind, and it just stuck.”
Reaves’ intricately beaded portraits, once a diversion for the Sacramento artist during a time of struggle five years ago, are now the backbone of her new business, Jewel’s Crafts & Creations. Reaves’ was one of a collection of Black-owned businesses’ wares and works on display Friday at the annual Ujamaa Market Day at Florin Square in Sacramento.
Ujamaa, the fourth day of Kwanzaa, marks the midpoint of the weeklong celebration of Black family, unity, community and culture, with Friday’s focus on cooperative economics — businesses and creatives coming together in service to the community. Kwanzaa ends Monday, New Year’s Day.
“We’re really manifesting cooperative economics in working together,” said artisan and Sacramento minister Alicia Teasley. “I love that everybody is in one space. People want to shop Black-owned businesses but sometimes don’t know where to go. You’re getting a multitude of businesses in one space.”
The Florin Square center at Florin Road and 24th Street, a hub for Black-owned small business in Sacramento, is a cultural hub and home to Sojourner Truth African Heritage Museum, a natural home for the annual market day. The square’s twice-weekly African marketplace has been a longstanding source for Afrocentric goods — the square itself is an incubator for Black entrepreneurs and creatives in Sacramento.
Teasley and artisan Sunshine Starchild celebrated the one-year anniversary of Art Chakra on Friday, their pop-up featuring Starchild’s blended teas; Teasley’s woven woolens; and Starchild’s intricate pen-and-ink illustrations. An encouraging nudge from Shonna McDaniels — the Sacramento artist, educator, muralist and community activist who is director of the museum — set Art Chakra on its path.
“We started last year at the Ujamaa market, officially one year ago today,” Starchild said, sharing a smile with Teasley. “It’s been a long time coming. We’d been tossing (the idea) back and forth, saying ‘We should sell our wares.’ Shonna said, ‘You should come out to Ujamaa market.’“
For Lori Sparks of Sacramento, crafting jewelry was a source of healing after the death of her husband 20 years ago. He owned his own business, she said, and encouraged her to hang her shingle. Today, the former newspaper advertising representative marks 17 years as owner of Beadologie Handcrafted Jewelry.
She looked over at her multicolored creations, her “children,” she said Friday, and mused over Ujamaa’s meaning — “familyhood” — and the cooperative spirit that marks the day.
“We all have to stick together. I love being out in my community. I love teaching people and I love being among my people,” Sparks said, looking around the room. “I have no competition here. We are brothers and sisters here together.”
