Page 13 - Florida Sentinel 12-14-18

FLORIDA SENTINEL FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2018
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Businesswoman Plans Annual ‘Buy Black Christmas’ Campaign
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
The name of Ms. Candy Lowe has been linked to the Candy Lowe Black Business Bus Tour for several years. She has focused her atten- tion on highlighting Black-owned and operated businesses in the Tampa Bay Area.
Last year, she hosted the Holi- day Black Business Tour. This year, she is repeating the event, slated for Saturday, December 15th. The bus will leave Bounce Boy, 5008 E. 10th Avenue promptly at 9 a.m. and re- turn at 1 p.m.
CANDY LOWE
... Tampa Businesswoman
It is scheduled to visit 22 busi- nesses in the area. Known as the “Buy Black, Wrap It Black Christ- mas Campaign.”
Ms. Candy Lowe, founder of the Black Business Tour said, “The idea is to encourage others to sup- port Black business. We’re not en- couraging shoppers not to visit other businesses, we just want them to be mindful of our own businesses. We are going to have a very diverse group of people on the tour.”
After the tour, Ms. Lowe said there will be more than 30 vendors on site at Bounce Boy. The vendors
will offer a variety of items between the hours of 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
Santa is also expected to visit the location, beginning at 1 p.m.
The concept behind the idea of wrapping items in black paper or placing them in black bags is to convey the message that it was pur- chased from a Black-owned busi- ness.
Ms. Lowe launched the Black Business Bus Tour in 2006. She re- activated the Black Business Tour in September of last year and has continued it since that time.
Ms. Lowe can be contacted at (813) 394-6363.
Professor To Discuss Kwanzaa And The Creation Of Pan-African Identities Sunday
BY GWEN HAYES Sentinel Editor
As we approach the Christmas holidays, the 7-day celebration of Kwanzaa immediately follows.
The Sulphur Springs Museum and Heritage Center will be the site of an event to discuss Kwanzaa. En- titled, “Africanish: Kwanzaa and the Creation of Pan-African Identities in America,” will be held Sunday, De- cember 16, 2018, 2 p. m. The mu- seum is located at 1101 E. River Cove Street, Tampa (33604).
Mrs. Norma Robinson, who founded the museum with her hus- band, Joseph Robinson, said they’re hoping “people will come out to learn more about Kwanzaa.
“We recently had a speaker in to talk about Santa Claus and with Kwanzaa coming up, we wanted to bring in someone who can talk about unifying, healing and educating, not just our people, but across all cul- tures,” Mrs. Robinson explained.
The featured guest speaker will be Professor Tameka Bradley Hobbs, Associate Professor of His- tory and Coordinator of the African
Study of African American Life and History, Inc. (ASALH, Inc.).
In her messages, Dr. Hobbs discusses the importance of Kwan- zaa as a way to unify, heal, and edu- cate across the cultural and spatial divides within the Africa diaspora.
Since 1966, the Kwanzaa holiday has been embraced across the United States, and is an opportunity to explore the relationship of Blacks in America to the cultures and peo- ples of Africa.
The Kwanzaa event is being held in conjunction with “Florida Holiday Traditions,” a traveling museum ex- hibit by the Museum of Florida His- tory. The exhibit, which explores through photographs how Floridi- ans have celebrated these special days, will be on display until Decem- ber 29th.
Admission to the museum is free, however, donations are welcome. Regular hours are, Wednesday to Saturday,11a.m.–4p.m.
DR. TAMEKA HOBBS ...Guest Speaker
American Studies Program at Val- dosta State University.
She earned her undergraduate degree from Florida A&M Univer- sity, and her doctoral degree in United States History, and Histori- cal Administration and Public His- tory from Florida State University.
Dr. Hobbs served as founding president of the South Florida Branch of the Association for the