Flyer for the fourth annual Black Ave event for Feb. 17 I Graphic Credit / Elevated Creations
The Kappa Omicron Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. in collaboration with Elevated Creations will be hosting the 4th Annual Black Ave on Feb. 17 from 1-5 p.m.
Its goal is to bring attention to Black businesses, but also allow UT Martin students to build connections to companies outside the Martin atmosphere. The event is being held on campus in the UT Martin courtyard.
There will be more than 40 businesses from all over the local area, including Memphis, Atlanta and Nashville. Every business will bring their merchandise from food, clothing and accessories that will be available for purchase. There will also be businesses that specialize in making wigs alongside installing them on models that will be on-site, in combination with those who specialize in all different areas from eyelashes, braids, facials, makeup and other general beauty specialties.
The main person backing Black Ave is Keithon Currie, a UT Martin alumnus and also a brother of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc. Alongside him is Jaden Jones, a Health and Human Performance major and current president of the Kappa Omicron Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. They have been collaborating to bring the idea of Black Ave to life, as well as furthering the event and making it what it is today.
Jones went in depth with his reasons for wanting to be associated with the event and how he believes it will impact the student body.
“Being put into a space with a lot of business owners, who are not only from different cultures but also resemble a large portion of what UT Martin stands for outside of just its education standards, it allows students to gain connections and also learn from people who are or have been in very similar situations. This event surpasses just being about buying and selling. It is an opportunity to open many doors in the future for not only yourself but others you may know,” Jones said.
“Last year there was a huge turnout with many people coming from many different areas not just centralized to Tennessee, and, with that, they brought many different things to Martin that a lot of the students have been wanting to see in this area,” Jones added.
He emphasized that “Black Avenue would be something that you will not want to miss and will be a highlight of everyone who attends this semester.”
Currie also went more in-depth on the behind-the-scenes work of making Black Ave what it is today and the hardships that he has pushed through to get to where he is.
“We started four years ago; the first one, we probably had 20 people signed up, maybe 15 of them showed up. It was mostly local people, local vendors, and local small businesses, we may have had two or three sponsors. It was really small. But this was fi ne. It was a sort of test run to see what we could pull in on something new to this area and community and the goal was to just keep growing and growing, one step at a time, event by event.
“This year we are over 40 vendors and have almost $3,000 worth of sponsorships just going into the event itself; this does not account for the entertainment and other attractions that will be on site. I began this as just something that was funded out of my own pockets. Now knowing that it is being advertised in newspapers from as far as Jackson and being recognized on the national news,” Currie said.
Currie also discussed his vision for the event in the future: “I want it to outgrow me as a whole and I want it to be something that can be held in areas and sell them out with ease. I’m not putting any limitations on it because it is not something that can be limited. I present an idea and whatever rooms that idea goes into will determine where it is meant to be.”
Currie also wanted to let students know that he “thought about just ending the event as a whole and just giving up but there was too much potential there for it to just end after one year. Instead of quitting, I doubled down and put more into it. Making this reach and taking the steps to better advertise and bring bigger names and brands to the area.
“I put a large portion of myself into this and take all the life lessons I have learned into using them to better not only the event but better myself as a person.” Currie said he wants to leave an impact on the students with this event.
“I want them to be able to make connections and be able to speak to people they do not know. Find those common interests and give them a route to succeed in life and maybe not have to go through some of the hardships due to them knowing what to expect and look out for,” he said.
Currie said he has been showing support for a lot of the vendors and many students who may be trying to start their own businesses.
“I have experienced the ups and downs of operating a business. Starting my company, Elevated Creations, came with a lot of turbulence. I was very naive and set in my ways. I wanted things to go my way and did not necessarily let many people in on my business being in fear of them trying to take money out of my pocket. This way of thinking herded a lot of the progress that could have been made but gave me key knowledge about what not to do. Once I started to become more open to help I began to progress a lot faster finding better ways to advertise and building a loyal clientele.”
Currie added, “I want people to come out and enjoy themselves meeting new people and supporting each other in ways that are bigger than just a repost on social media. This is just a foundation; I want this to become an event that even students can promote their businesses.”
