To usher in the holiday season – and therefore shopping season – HYFIN is holding its second annual Blackity Black Holiday Market at the Turner Hall Ballroom. The pop-up market will take place on Small Business Saturday, which is Nov. 25 at 10 a.m.-3 p.m., and its mission is to bring together local Black-owned businesses in one space to be enjoyed by all shoppers.
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“There are statistics out there that Black businesses have trouble growing compared to other businesses, so we want to help them with this market,” says Tarik Moody, director of digital content at Radio Milwaukee and program director at HYFIN. “We have over 50 vendors and performances from the youth of our city. For the young ones, we will have Black Santa and Mrs. Claus and a Santa letter-writing station.”
For this year’s market, HYFIN has partnered with the African American Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin, Historic King Drive BID and We Got Soul MKE to encourage new small businesses to participate. Shoppers can also enjoy free food from local eateries that participated in HYFIN’s edition of CityTins.
“That’s another way we’re trying to amplify the Black and Brown restaurants in our community,” Moody says. “The partners help bring in vendors and different types of businesses we might not be aware of. We’re still looking for vendors to get involved.”
HYFIN DJ and weekend host Anthony Foster will spin music as people shop. The market will also offer services from local non-profits, financial institutions and mental-health resources on-site. And by bringing shoppers to local vendors and entrepreneurs, HYFIN aims to amplify Black voices, art and businesses.
“My job at HYFIN is to use our platform to change the narrative,” Moody says. “We can’t solve all the problems, but we amplify the good things that are happening in the city. My goal is to change perception. We try to do a different market than most markets. One of my visions is to become one of the biggest markets for Black businesses in the region.”
