"The Taste of the AV" sounds exactly like something the Black Community needs. Most likely modeled after the Taste of Soul in Los Angeles City, the event stands to bring out many families that are looking for some food options locally that remind them of home. Home for the black community is really in the heart. It’s also in the food. Sometimes we have to migrate for opportunity, so at times we are constantly seeking that feeling. When I was in college, I had a heavy focus on making my non-black teachers understand what I thought of being black. I wrote about things that I peeped that made no sense to me. Like the way gentrification is just something that cities turn a blind eye to. How they allow large businesses, rich people, and people from anywhere but the actual city, to come in, push out the people that built the city up and redecorate. When any individual has to migrate, they lose access to the restaurants they fell in love with, the family gatherings they adore and so much more. The black community seeks sanctuary, safe places, where they feel love, where they feel familiarity and where they can get some good seasoned fixins! "The Taste of AV" is exactly that and an opportunity other than Juneteenth to celebrate being from the culture, and to celebrate and support our hardworking small business owners. Supporting black-owned businesses should be year-round.
This community is in need of support from everyone. The position in this rat race that black people are in is not because of some genetic trait. It is because several movements that were created to raise the black community to equality (Emphasis on EQUALITY) were met with combativeness, fear of jobs being taken, feel of us possibly surpassing others. We say, “I want to bring the community together”, then they say, “This is the cost, you will also need this, this, and that”, totaling to an astronomical number that would indeed break the bank and the heart of the person with the great idea. Even if they have the money. It feels as if blocades have been put in place to stop the growth. We try to not feel like this system was designed to fail us, but all signs point that way. So what do we do? This has made the black community individuals that think outside the box because they may feel that the current system doesn't really care. Ironically, thinking outside the box could possibly lead to deviating from the checks and balances created by our governing powers. Thus crippling the dreamer even further if they are fined or jailed for trying to do so. When will we realize that spaces and lanes need to be created for groups of people like this because of the history that kept them back?
African Americans, People of Color, BIPOC, Black people, whatever your preference is… are people that deal with a lot of marginalization. The statistics of the rise and fall of black-owned businesses are something that should be talked about because the numbers are alarming. (Most recent statistics can be found here —> https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/02/16/a-look-at-black-owned-businesses-in-the-us/) It is important to talk about things that we have tended to and figure out a way to improve it. As a black business owner, attempting to get someone’s trust is a chore sometimes. I feel like I need to have a meeting, tell a personal story, attend a birthday dinner, and deliver an amazing product in record time to gain a client's trust. When we walk into a store, sometimes we feel like we are being watched. We feel like people don’t trust us. Not even our own people. Shockingly, sometimes we can't even trust ourselves to pull something off, an event, a business launch, or a pitch. That imposter syndrome is like an annoying fly that just won't go away. It keeps landing on you as if it is attracted to you or something. You try to swat it away but it just finds its way back.
Now it’s like, “My clients don’t trust me and I am also dealing with personal doubt. I can’t catch a break!” Businesses/people with innovative ideas need support, believers, they/we need a lane, they/we need guidance. We will continue to make BLKNGLD THE SUPPORT THAT IS NEEDED.
Check out pictures from the first ever Taste of the AV that was met with two location changes due to reasons that are unknown aka...we know what it is.
You can follow the Taste of the AV here on Instagram to stay up to date with future dates as this will not be a year round event.
This event came from the minds of Pasyhon Jackson, a beauty salon owner based in Palmdale, CA. She currently runs a non-profit named Boss Kids Braiding Academy that currently teaches braiding to children at Lancaster Community Center.
Pictures Below
From Payshon on Facebook : On behalf of Boss Kids Braiding Academy & Fattys Soul Food and everyone who helped organize this event, I want to extend a huge thank you to all the participants who made The Taste of AV Foodie Fest such an amazing experience ......
. We had a bit of a rocky start, but with the grace of God and everyone’s teamwork , our first Taste of AV Foodie fest truly became a remarkable event.
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