The Black Business Expo took place on Wednesday, Feb. 26 at 5 p.m. in the Charles E. Brown African American Cultural Center as part of the Black History Month celebration at Indiana State. Attendees at the event connected with Black-owned businesses founded and operated by Indiana State students, who showcased their products and services.
To learn more about the event, the Statesman spoke with Kila Wilson and Kierra Williams, the Event Coordinators for the Black Student Union.
“We started putting this together about three weeks ago. I just reached out to a bunch of people on campus that I knew had Black-owned businesses because we wanted to push that specifically during Black History Month,” Wilson said. “We’re just really excited about the opportunity for our Black students on campus to promote themselves.”
Williams spoke about what she hopes both student business owners and attendees gain from the event.
“I hope they gain clientele. I hope that people gain insight on all the Black businesses that are around and how successful Black people can be. I hope some people will leave here inspired to, if they have any ideas of their own businesses, to put work into getting those,” Williams said.
The Statesman also spoke with the vendors at the event, who shared their products and services.
Janiya Bowman runs Plates by Neeks, a business selling home-cooked meals, including dinners, drinks, and desserts.
“I’ve started since the beginning of the school semester, and the business has been getting bigger. I hope to get more new customers and put the business more out there on a platform,” Bowman said.
Khyla Crisler runs Khyla’s Kreations, and has been selling custom-made treats since her junior year of high school. Crisler said she hoped to gain “experience and connectivity with other people and other Black business” from the event.
Brinden Cousins is a sophomore at Indiana State and the Founder and CEO of Apex Ascend Co., a logistics and real estate investment company.
“Obviously, most people who are attending this event are students, so they may not have a trucking company or homes to sell. But my purpose of being here is to get the word out that there is someone young, Black, a minority here doing this and this business, because this is not something that you see every day,” Cousins said. “My purpose is to let people know that they can do this, they can make their own way in this business and be successful at it.”
Shaliyah Hunt is a sophomore who runs Bouj33 Brand, selling two-piece sets. The business began a little over a year ago.
“I just really want to network and get my brand out there,” Hunt said. “This is a great event to network and get more customers and build my portfolio.”
Fredrick Retic is a sophomore who runs a clothing brand called Solo Society, which also began about a year ago.
“I’m just trying to go global. I started it because I have always loved fashion and clothes. I went and took my dreams to the next level,” Retic said. “I love seeing all Black businesses do good, so I hope everyone gets the exposure they want.”
Nena Chalulu is a sophomore who runs Milknut Crochets, selling custom-made items.
“I hope to reach a new audience, especially here on campus. I would really love to see people wearing the stuff that I make around campus,” Chalulu said.
Madisyn Dilosa is a sophomore who runs a hair studio called blessedbyymadii, which has been running for two years.
“I’m hoping for people to come and see my work and experience my services,” Dilosa said.
Henry Akindejoye is a sophomore who runs Superior Fits, which began operation five months ago.
“A couple of my friends shared a post with me and I thought, ‘I should come and show up,’” Akindejoye said. “[The business] is going good, I’m trying my best, especially with the time at school and everything.”
Kieniah Cage is a senior who runs KC Lash Kingdom, which has been selling individual lashes for three years.
“I hope to make new connections with people and different businesses and be able to support others as well,” Cage said.
Serenity Allison-Bell is a freshman who runs Protected&Pretty, a business selling self-defense keychains. Allison-Bell stated what she hopes to gain from this event.
“I hope to reach out to [people] and get them a keychain, and I really hope this event brings all the Black businesses and the community together,” Allison-Bell said.
The Statesman also spoke with attendees at the event, including Valerie Hart-Craig, the assistant director of the Charles E. Brown African American Cultural Center and advisor to the BSU. Hart-Craig shared her experience of seeing both the businesses and attendees at the event.
“I think it’s beautiful,” Hart-Craig said. “The idea that we still have Black entrepreneurship in 2025 and even on a college campus, where they are self-sustaining and taking care of themselves…especially during Black History Month.”
Kandace Rippy, a hall coordinator for Residential Life and an intern at the AACC, also shared her experience of seeing the event come together.
“It has been amazing; I did not know that we had so many young students here on our campus that had their own businesses, so it’s just great that they are getting their faces out, getting their businesses for all of our students to connect with,” Rippy said.
The Statesman also spoke with Malia Thomas, the Vice President of BSU, and Olivia Lewis, the Fundraising Chair on the board for BSU.
“It’s really exciting because seeing other people support other people gives everybody the mentality to want to do better,” Thomas said. “Sharing the energy of pushing another person creates energy and gets the campus alive again.”
“I think it feels amazing that we’ve been able to bring out all these students and to say that we did it was amazing,” Lewis said. “A lot of people don’t come out to events nowadays, so to see this great of a turnout and to see that everybody is still here and here and wanting to do something great, is great.”
Jaylen Marks is the president of BSU at Indiana State and was also part of organizing the expo. Marks discussed what the event bringing together businesses and students means for him.
“One thing that it says to me is that there is value in them and definitely a lot of work being done here in our community,” Marks said. “It shows that can you a college degree, you can pursue things on the side. It shows how diverse and how multifaceted our economy is as students.”
Marks also spoke about the “limitless potential” the student business owners exhibit.
“When I see my peers come together to showcase themselves in a light like this, it kind of helps curate the next generation moving forward in such an uplifting light, to let them know that ‘if I can do it, you can do it, too,’” Marks said.
