November 22, 2018 - MN Spokesman-Recorder

PRST STD U.S.POSTAGE PAID TWIN CITIES MN PERMIT NO. 6391

THE VOICE OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY SINCE 1934

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November 22-28, 2018 Vol. 85 No. 16 www.spokesman-recorder.com

SMALL BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT

See the big picture…

AUTUMN’S VINTAGE BOUTIQUE

Autumn Frazier is the proprietor of Autumn’s Vintage Boutique, LLC in Minneapolis. The 59-year-old mother of three owns the resale shop that carries high-end vintage clothing and one-of-a-kind pieces that you aren’t likely to find anywhere else. So, when you shop there to find a stylish dress to stunt on your co-workers (who may or may not like you), they won’t be able to run out and copy your style. That’s just part of the charm of Frazier’s clothing store.

to build my own. I want to be able to utilize my skills and take it to the next level.’” It is also easier to start a business now than ever before, said Uzoma Abasi, Minnesota Black Chamber of Commerce (MBCC) president, about the boom in ownership. “You don’t need to pay a lawyer thousands of dollars to set up your LLC. You can go to a website, for instance the State of Minnesota [website], and set it up yourself,” said Abasi. “A lot of the barriers to starting a business have gone down, and that’s allowing us to not feel like it’s not for us. When you see someone that looks like you doing something, it makes it okay for you to do it.”

needed to figure out what I wanted to do at this point in my life. Around 2012, it just hit me one day. I took a cue from grandma and went clothes shopping. Those first purchases built the foundation of what is today Autumn’s Vintage Clothing Boutique.

MSR: How does your business impact the community? AF: Small businesses, especially women-owned businesses, are the fastest segment of growth in our economy. A lot of my clients only shop at my

… before jumping into business By Stephenetta Harmon Editor-in-Chief

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here’s no denying that small business ownership is on the rise amongst African Americans. In Minnesota alone, people of color have become the fastest growing demographic in the state, according to a 2017 survey by the Aspen Institute in Washington, D.C. Black business ownership, along with its benefits — financial freedom, legacy, self-empowerment — is not a new conversation. How people are approaching it is.

Autumn Frazier (far right) shows a vintage beaded gown in her shop Submitted Photo Autumn’s Vintage Boutique carries everything from clothing and shoes to fur coats, hats and accessories for women of all sizes. You can browse through the South Minneapolis shop to find a fur coat or purchase the perfect pants suit on her website. On a recent visit to her shop, we observed a customer looking for an outfit to take holiday pictures in. One could not tell this was the lady’s first visit to the shop, however, with Frazier’s warm demeanor and the way they were chatting it up like old pals. I soon realized this is just the way Frazier treats all her clients: like friends. Read on as we chat with Frazier for this week’s business spotlight. MSR: What inspired you to launch/start your business? Autumn Frazier: I was inspired to start my business by the best-dressed women in my life — my mother and grandmother. After the recession, I

store because they want luxury, one-of-a-kind vintage pieces that no one else will be wearing. And the prices are reasonable. MSR: What would you consider your business’ hero service or product? AF: One of my clients recently posted this review on a social media site: “Autumn’s vintage has incredible one-of-a-kind pieces, and she also takes the time to know the individual and shop just for you and your body type.” That is my business; that’s what I do. I don’t just care about selling clothes. I care about my customers. MSR: What has been your biggest challenge in owning a business? AF: If running a business was easy, everyone would do it. It takes hard work and dedication. As a person of color, I feel that I have to work three times harder. You have to be a go-getter. You have to brand yourself.

■ See SBS on page 8

■ See BuSineSS on page 8

“The landscape has definitely changed,” said Nerita Hughes, dean of business, technology, career, and workforce development at North Hennepin Community College. Just a generation ago, she said, the thinking was to go to school, get a degree, and “position yourself for a corporate job or a job that›s going to see you above and beyond ‹let›s just pay the bills,’” she explained. Now she’s hearing, “‘I don’t want to have to work for somebody else and build somebody else’s empire. I want to be able Nerita Hughes

Photo by Chris Juhn

Mining the resources to heal Black trauma mother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies, is about Resmaa Menakem stalked how the physical nature of trautables of people — Black, White, ma — like a slave woman’s lifeand other — all dressed up and long trappings — impacts not gathered to eat baked chicken just our minds but our bodies as and think about Blackness at a well and is inherited by the folfundraising gala for the Racial lowing generations. Justice Network (RJN) in St. Paul. It hasn’t been that many genDressed in a casual blue and erations for most descendants off-white plaid shirt, the surefooted trauma specialist and author weaved around the room at the event hosted by the newly formed grassroots organization created to build bridges across racial, social and economic lines to address racial justice issues. Following speakers and singers appealing to intellect, spirit and aesthetics, Menakem engaged the room in his physical, body-centric approach to dealing with race. He has worked in trauma and healing for 30 years, garnering such awards as the National Alliance on Mental Illness 2018 Professional of the Year. “I know I look good,” Menakem joked to the crowd during Resmaa Menakem his keynote. His latest book, My GrandBy Solomon Gustavo Contributing Writer

of American slaves. “My greatgrandmother was born on a plantation,” an earlier speaker noted. Recognizing that the pain of a lynching lasts generations recognizes the simple point of a lynching: unconscionable terrorism. In the same simple yet radical way, Menakem asked the assembled group to stand up and

Photo by Stephenetta Harmon

look around, to use their “necks and hips,” he said. He had everyone spot the exits and look at the floor, the terrain they stood on. With the event themed around reparations for Black and indigenous communities, Menakem said, “I am going to try and help you have an experience around reparations rather than me talking to you about reparations…What are the subtle and substantial costs of what happened to us?” In one exercise, Menakem had attendees form groups of four by looking around and gravitating toward whomever you made eye contact with. He then had everyone line up. “The caboose is a Black woman who is 300 years old,” said Menakem, calling attention to each person in the back of the line. Menakem recounts her life as a slave, her cattle-like state of shuttling through trade to other plantations and perpetual rape. “She was bred.” The next person in line was

■ See Trauma on page 8

COMMUNITY REPARATIONS GALA The Restorative Justice Network, a grassroots organization created to build bridges across racial, social and economic lines, hosted its first annual community celebration to a sold-out crowd. With the focus on community reparations, the Nov. 17 event featured renowned author and trauma specialist, Resmaa Menakem, as keynote speaker. The event, held at the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, addressed ways the network hopes to raise funds for economic development, as well as contextualize what reparations might look like in 2018.

Pictured above: (1) Nekima Levy Armstrong, (2) Chauntyl Allen, (3) Lutunji Abram, Titilayo Bediako, guest, (4) Titilayo Bediako.

Photos by Stephenetta Harmon