Cleveland: Rebuilding Black Communities, One Dollar at a Time

    CLEVELAND, OH, August 08, 2016 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The Real Black Friday Weekend (www.therealblackfriday.com) commences Friday, August 12, 2016.

The weekend (August 12th - 14th) features a number of events geared toward educating and galvanizing the black community in financial literacy and responsibility, leadership and entrepreneurship, and the importance of patronizing and investing in black-owned and operated businesses.
An initiative created by LaRese B. Purnell, author, financial advisor, and COO and CFO of The Word Church (Cleveland, Ohio), The Real Black Friday (TRBF) campaign has a threefold purpose:

• To increase solidarity, financial continuity, and consumer education within black communities
• To bring awareness to the number and types of black-owned businesses
• To encourage consumers to financially support these businesses and assist with creating jobs and sustainability

Purnell also wants to capitalize on the energy and high morale inspired by the Cavs' historic championship win.
He said, "It's a great time for all of us here in Northeastern Ohio. Because of what the Cavs achieved, people have newfound faith in our city and in each other. I hope we can find a way to harness some of that energy into a win for black entrepreneurs and businesses by getting more people to believe in what they have to offer."
This year's weekend event will consist of the following:

Friday, August 12th
Black Market Friday - For the entire day, The Real Black Friday will promote and highlight local black-owned businesses, particularly those listed in TRBF directory (www.therealblackfriday.com). The day's events will include multiple cash mobs at three selected businesses scheduled throughout the day, as well as live broadcasts from two featured locations provided by Radio One. One of the goals of this day will be to encourage the community to frequent Faith Community United Credit Union, a black owned and operated credit union located right here in Cleveland, OH. The goal is to open 500 new accounts amounting to at least $1 million in deposits.

Saturday, August 13th
Flip this Biz - Easily the most talked about outreach venture of 2016, this is where The Real Black Friday and 107.3 The Wave Radio Station teams will show how they "flipped" a local black-owned business, with the much-anticipated reveal done before a live audience and in real time through social media, television and a live radio remote provided by The Wave on the day of the Reveal. The Inaugural Winner is Annie B's and Earl's Restaurant, located at 4017 St. Clair Ave Cleveland, OH 44103.

While the renovations to the business were cosmetic, Purnell hopes the impact will run a lot deeper, and be a lot more meaningful to residents of the community.

"We're grateful for the opportunity to do this, and for all the people who are teaming up to help us, like Ubiquitous Design, JB Original Design, Green Integrated, The Fix Bistro, Design Bee, Sammie Does IT, Beckham's B and M's, AKA Team and many others. But our goal is to make a real, lasting, financial difference in both this company and this community. We're hoping the renovations generate interest from the public, and that customers will come in, eat well, and spread the word."

But not only is the winning business getting a facelift, the employees will also go through a comprehensive crash course all that week on how to run and manage their business with excellence with the assistance of Jumpstart and The Real Black Friday team.

Sunday, August 14th
Black Business Expo, Cleveland 100 Job Fair & A Taste of Black Cleveland - A family friendly event highlighting 150+ black-owned businesses, products, and services, and dozens of black restaurateurs. Over 5k attendees will be in attendance, where consumers will be introduced to their community businesses and reciprocally, company owners will have the advantage of exposure to customers who may have never heard of them. Training and resources will be provided before the start of the expo to all registered vendors.

While the primary focus of the event is on black economic empowerment, it is not just for African-Americans. Black businesses need the support of the entire spending population to succeed, not just from a specific group. All are welcome and encouraged to attend. The Town Hall portion of this event will include local and national speakers, Dr. RA Vernon, Stedman Graham, David Banner, Jeff Johnson, Basheer Jones, DJ Steph Floss and Karen Civil. This event will be hosted by former Cleveland Browns player Josh Cribbs and Moderated by Danita Harris, News Channel 5 Anchor.

Last year, Mayor Frank Jackson supported the venture, and underscored Purnell's plight to encourage blacks to start spending within their own communities.

"Mr. Purnell is right," he said. "True wealth creation starts at home." It is essential that African-American businesses spend money with one another and it is equally important that these businesses provide quality goods and services at a competitive price for this to be successful."

This year's sponsors include New York Life, KeyBank, Bedford Nissan, I Can Schools, E.F. Boyd & Son Funeral Home, Ideastream, 107.3 The Wave, The Word Church, Beckham's B and M's, Jumpstart, Forest City, NuLife Fitness, So Kinky So Kurly So Straight, Hunter Chiropractic & Wellness Center and many more.

Those interested in attending or participating as a business owner or vendor can register online at http://www.therealblackfriday.com. Details, including a full schedule of events can be found on the site as well.

For more information or interviews, contact LaRese Purnell at (216) 214-9710 or via email at [email protected].

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