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People celebrating an opening of a new business with ribbon cutting

Make Black History Month count – support Detroit’s Black-owned businesses

Feb 18, 2020

Black History Month is a time to honor the contributions and accomplishments of Black Americans – past and present. We are fortunate to live in an area closely connected to the Civil Rights Movement, and the men and women who dedicate their lives to equal rights. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, the Reverend Nicholas Hood, Sr., Coleman Young, Benjamin Lambert, Malcolm X, Dr. Rosa Gragg, Fannie Richards and countless others have made history right here in Detroit.

Many others are continuing to work to ensure that all Detroiters have access to employment, opportunity and prosperity.  As the great Nelson Mandela once said, “We must work together to ensure the equitable distribution of wealth, opportunity, and power in our society.”

I’m very proud that for more than 42 years, the DEGC has been driving the City’s economic development. This includes empowering Detroit’s Black business community through a variety of initiatives, including business attraction, business retention and entrepreneurship.

Our Motor City Match (MCM) program, which provides resources to launch local small businesses, is helping to create a new generation of Black business owners. More than 80 percent of MCM recipients are minority entrepreneurs – and the majority of them are female. You’ll find Black business owners in every sector – health care, personal styling, fashion, along with other various in-demand goods and services.

As you honor Detroit’s civil rights heroes, take the time to celebrate Detroit’s Black businesses, especially the restaurants. Listed below are just a few of Detroit’s Black-owned restaurants and food service providers, many of which are MCM winners:

  • Detroit Vegan Soul
  • Good Cakes and Bakes
  • Table No 2
  • Ella Mae’s Place
  • Cooking With Que
  • Yum Village
  • Norma G’s
  • Good Times on the Ave.
  • Kuzzo’s
  • Baker’s Keyboard Lounge
  • Louisiana Creole Gumbo
  • Detroit Pepper Company

This month, the City of Detroit’s Civil Rights, Inclusion and Opportunity Department is hosting events to connect entrepreneurship and civic engagement, as well as non-profit and community leaders. A full list of City-sponsored events can be found here. Additionally, Visit Detroit offers the ultimate guide to Black History Month in Detroit. This includes a list of tours, museum events, retail offerings and activities at historic locations such as the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History.

Please take the time to visit the historical sites that preserve Black history and highlight the stories of courageous and talented Black Detroiters. Make your tribute to Black History count by supporting the men and women who are changing Detroit’s economy today.

Recent Headlines

A halal-culinary adventure: Motor City Match winner, with deep community ties, celebrates restaurant opening ahead of Ramadan

A Detroit restaurant, bakery and catering service specializing in healthy, organic, and halal-friendly food, celebrated its grand opening with Mayor Mike Duggan, city leaders and community members just in time for Ramadan – a holy observance for Muslims where followers abstain from eating between sunrise and sunset. Supreme Café Founder, Jamaal Muhammad, was joined by Mayor Duggan, city officials and community members at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for his establishment, marking the 146th brick-and-mortar business opened by Motor City Match.

More than just a place to wash clothes: Motor City Match winner opens laundromat that doubles as a community resource center

Our Community Laundromat, LLC is more than a place to wash clothes. The facility in Detroit’s Bethune Community neighborhood aspires to become a beloved space where residents can receive clean clothing and valuable community resources. Mayor Mike Duggan and city leaders today held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the laundromat, marking the 145th brick-and-mortar opened by Motor City Match.