NORFOLK, Va. — There is a rich history of Black entrepreneurship in Hampton Roads, and its legacy is now being honored through a new initiative by Black BRAND.
Dubbed "Hampton Roads' Regional Black Chamber of Commerce", the nonprofit works to uplift Black-owned businesses. Its new Reviving Legacy Project aims to highlight historic Black business hubs, celebrate today’s Black-owned businesses, and explore future growth opportunities for Black entrepreneurs across the region.
Blair Durham, CEO and co-founder of Black BRAND, describes the initiative as a way to bridge the past with the future, highlighting community-driven success in the face of adversity.
“Our mission is about promoting group economics through all things professional development, all things community empowerment," Durham said. "So, to that end, we host a number of programs and initiatives throughout the year aimed at sharing that our community has the resources that it needs in order to build wealth. So, we are laser focused on narrowing the racial wealth gap."
For the Reviving Legacy Project, Black BRAND is creating a three-part resource center that will live on its website to tell the story of Black business in Hampton Roads. Durham said it was inspired by a conversation she had with her father.
"He started to share with me that our community could not do business on Granby Street and that all of our business activity took place on Church Street. He started to talk to me about everything, from entertainment to shopping to houses of worship. We talked about fraternal organizations, and how Church Street was where it happened," Durham said. "And then, he began to show me pictures. And I felt this longing in him to return to some semblance of that level of unity. And that prompted me to do a bit more digging. I’m like, how is it possible that no one knows about this history?"
Part One: The Roots
The first phase of the project aims to highlights the historical significance of areas like Norfolk’s Church Street, once known as the "Black Wall Street of Norfolk". In the early 1900s, Church Street was a bustling hub where Black-owned banks, insurance companies, retail stores, and other businesses flourished.
“Church Street was the Mecca. It was the Apollo of the South,” said Seko Varner, owner of the Hampton Roads Greenbook-- an online directory of Black businesses, organizations, and professionals in Hampton Roads-- a disc jockey, and a member of Black BRAND. “Performers came from Mississippi and Louisiana. And as they were making their way to New York City, they came here and they performed.… They had a hard time finding places to stay, to there were hotels that we owned here on Church Street in Norfolk, in Portsmouth, in Hampton... They went to the restaurants that we owned here. They were supervised and protected by the police department that we ran here. The heartbeat of Hampton Roads is the music."
A glimpse into this history can still be viewed today at the iconic Attucks Theatre on Church Street, which Durham views as a case study on what the community can achieve through collaboration.
"It is a reflection of a joint venture activity by a number of black entrepreneurs," she said. "So, we’re talking about Harvey Johnson, who was the primary architect on the Attucks Theatre project-- then known as Booker T. His office was located on Church Street. We’re talking about two Black banks that funded this project. So, Brown Savings Bank as well as Tidewater Bank and Trust, provided what was needed to build the Attucks Theatre... [It] was actually a coworking space for Black business owners. So, lawyers, realtors, dentists, all converging at what was then the Booker T, now the Attucks Theatre, to do their work."
Durham noted that there were also other significant areas across Hampton Roads that served as incubators for a range of Black-owned businesses.
"In Portsmouth, I believe it was the Queen Street corridor," she said. "In the city of Hampton, it was the Buckroe and Phoebus sort of area, where Black business thrived."
The project plans to honor how early Black entrepreneurs navigated segregation and systemic barriers to create thriving business communities.
"People ask us, 'What is the bird in the middle of the Black BRAND logo?'. That is the Sankofa bird. And it is a fictitious bird, but it means it is not taboo to go back and fetch what you’ve forgotten," Durham said. "There is a fabric of entrepreneurship that is interwoven throughout this region. And really, the center of economic activity for the Black community is right here on Church Street. Black Wall Street is not something that only existed in Tulsa, Oklahoma or Durham, North Carolina. It existed in every city where there was a Black community."
Part Two: The Current Landscape
The second part of the project will highlight the network of Black-owned businesses that shape the region today. Durham said Black entrepreneurs continue to contribute to Hampton Roads’ economy, but the business landscape has evolved.
"The concentration, you know, the density of Black businesses-- that’s not a thing anymore. You also had a lot of folks who left the area," she said. "And so, what we do have now, and I’m grateful that we have it, is we have the ability to convene... I think about how businesses are scaling, how we’re understanding economics, how we are understanding banking and finance. We still exist as a thriving Black business community, albeit spread out."
Varner agreed, emphasizing that Black entrepreneurship is still going strong in the area.
“Being a businessperson was something that was built here in Hampton Roads,” Varner said. “We were able to provide hospitals for ourselves. We were able to provide schools and colleges for ourselves. We had police forces that we primarily ran. We had fire departments that we primarily ran. We had our own pharmacy. We had our own clothiers. We had our own farms. We were a really great, insulated society when America wasn’t fully open for us yet. We took care of each other."
It's why Durham works to ensure Black BRAND promotes these businesses, provides resources, and creates a supportive network.
"Entrepreneurship is how our community has survived since day one," she said. "And so, when I think about where we’ve been and where we’re going, I recognize that although we bring the skills, it’s imperative that we understand how business works, how to collaborate with one another, and certainly how to scale our interests for the betterment of the community at large."
Part Three: The Future
The final segment of the project explores emerging industries that hold promise for local Black entrepreneurs.
"We are a maritime community, and that is where the opportunities live," Durham said. "And maritime is an umbrella for a number of other industries – health sciences, advanced manufacturing-- those are skills that we need to develop. Those are areas that we need to explore. That's the exposure that Black BRAND feels a burden to create-- is to connect to that larger industry, so that as young people are making decisions about their future, they see so much more than what they might have."
Her hope is that the project will not only document history but inspire future generations of entrepreneurs.
"Business owners – our lack of proximity has created a lack of trust. It has created distance in ways that are hurtful, really," Durham said. "As we’re thinking about and making our plans for 2025, we're vision casting, we're dreaming-- let’s be very intentional."
She also wants the community to take ownership of the story and experience that comes out of the project.
“There are parts of the story that are hideous, certainly, but there is triumph that comes out of this story. And it’s tied to our ability to articulate it,” she said. "There’s a narrative that says that so many of our businesses are going to fail. We’re going to fail at a greater rate than that of the mainstream community. But when we’re able to go back and look at what we’ve done, how we’ve collaborated, what we’ve built-- we’re able to understand what’s possible."
Varner also shared his vision for the project, hoping that it creates "a great story that we can always look back upon, we can read upon, we can find the pictures, we can hear the audio. So, when we run into troubles in the future, we know what has already been done. We know exactly where to go. We have stories that give us the direction on how to handle the challenges, the ups and downs in life. That’s one of the great things about our great books, our books of guidance. They have a plethora of stories that tell us how to deal with today’s issues. Let’s build that book for Hampton Roads."
The Reviving Legacy Project will officially launch during Black BRAND’s Black Diamond Weekend Business Conference, held November 7-9 at the Renaissance Hotel in Portsmouth. Throughout the event, attendees will have the chance to hear from speakers like John Hope Bryant, Dr. Boyce Watkins, and actress Jennifer Lewis. There will also be a Black Diamond Affair Gala on November 8.
Registration for Black Diamond Weekend is open through November 8. Tickets for the gala will be available until the event sells out.