CHARLOTTE — From balloons to jewelry to clothing, seven Mallard Creek High School students set up booths on Friday to showcase their businesses.
It was part of Mallard Creek’s Black Student Alliance’s pop-up Buy Black event.
It’s also an opportunity for student entrepreneurs to sell items to their classmates face-to-face.
Student Jordan Ann Johnson told Channel 9 that she owns Balloon Art by JuJu. She said she started her business a year ago.
“I was excited to do it because I hadn’t found a way to really promote my business in school,” said Johnson. “I figured out that this is something that I’m good at and something I choose to explore and create as well.”
MaBraq McCoy, also a student, said his strategy was to attract customers to his business, Hood Legend, where he sells t-shirts and copper jewelry.
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“This is the perfect opportunity to get my business out there and also network with people at the school,” student MaBraq McCoy said. “I like to talk to people when they come and ask them certain questions that will make them want to recur.”
Nekia Miller, the advisor for the Black Student Alliance, said the event was not only an opportunity for students to showcase their businesses but also a way to honor Black Wall Street.
“What we wanted to do was bring it back to commemorate the history of Black Wall Street. And how, at one point, obviously, we had rising businesses, banks, and financial districts across different cities of our country,” Miller explained.
Ultimately, those involved in the event took a step towards charting paths to entrepreneurship.
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