August is National Black Business Month, a chance to celebrate and support Black entrepreneurs and the businesses they own. In Athens, multiple online resources can help spread awareness of Black owned businesses and how the community can support them.
These resources have been in the works for years.
In 2016, local artist and community organizer Broderick Flanigan started a public list of over 90 local Black owned businesses that has since expanded and is still in use as a valuable community resource today.
That year, Flanigan noticed racial tensions come to a head in Athens. In the fall of 2015, General Beauregard’s closed just days after the downtown bar was accused of having a racist drink name on the menu.
“There was a lot of protesting and a lot of energy that was surging up. I was just thinking about how could we redirect some of this energy to something