This week's Black History Month Spotlight is on Carmen Turner, Owner of Henry's Barkalicious Dog Treats Here are some questions we asked Ms. Turner:
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Should business owners share their personal opinions in public spaces? Are there times where the need for speaking up outweighs business caution? Is it possible that speaking up on a topic you feel passionately about will cost you customers?
While the answer to all of these questions is “yes” it is up to your business to decide when the issue and need for action is larger than your business. Only you can decide the price of the issue at hand. But sometimes it's not even a question of refusing or agreeing to do business in support of a cause you feel passionately about. Sometimes it's about lending your voice to the movement. By becoming a vocal advocate for a cause you may alienate customers and that might be fine with you because the cause is more important. But there are a few questions you should consider first: Businesses join the chamber of commerce for several reasons. Years ago, it may have been expected; just something you did when you opened a business and wanted to be in good standing in the community.
But these days it’s more likely a business joins because there is a direct advantage to them personally. Maybe they wanted a ribbon cutting or need the advocacy or wanted a marketing opportunity that membership allowed them. Yes, there are many reasons to join the chamber and tons of benefits your business can receive from membership. But aside from simply writing a check and receiving a set of benefits, there are reasons why you should become personally involved with the local chamber of commerce. Plus, the chamber extends its benefits to all of your employees so you can use chamber membership benefits as employee benefits. Share this with them as well. Despite being the Southernmost city in the United States, during the American Civil War, Key West’s strong Navy and Army presence allowed the area to remain controlled by the Union. This gave the North an advantage in blockading the Gulf of Mexico, and many slave refugees and free Blacks found Key West to be a southern safe haven of freedom. In 1863, after the Emancipation Proclamation, Colonel James Montgomery of Kansas was sent to Key West to recruit a regiment of only Black soldiers. Black men in the island city between the ages of 15 and 50 deemed to be physically fit were ordered to report for duty in Hilton Head, South Carolina to fight on behalf of the Union in the 2nd South Carolina Regiment. The names of the Black men from Key West who fought - at least 18 of whom were killed in combat - were sadly not well preserved, and many have been lost to time. In February of 2016, on the same date those men were called to duty in 1863, the City of Key West honored these individuals with a statue of a Black Union soldier presented at a ceremony in Bayview Park, poignantly titled “The Forgotten Soldier”. The statue was donated by local businessman Ed Knight, who hoped to bring awareness to the sacrifice of these men so they would no longer be forgotten. In 1942, shortly after the United States entered the second World War, African Americans began to enlist in the United States Marine Corps after President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued an Executive Order banning discrimination within the US Defense Industry. Despite being able to join, the military was still segregated and Black marines were trained at a separate facility known as Montford Point near Jacksonville, North Carolina. During this time, unlike white soldiers, the Black marines had to “fight for the right to fight” - many were not given the chance to serve in combat, despite being forced to go through significantly harder physical and mental testing. 20,000 Black recruits went through training at this camp between 1942-1949, discontinuing when segregation within the armed forces was outlawed by President Harry S. Truman’s Executive Order 9981. They were finally recognized for their service in 2012 by President Barack Obama, with the Congressional Gold Medal awarded to all living and nonliving Montford Point Marines. 13 Montford Point Marines were locals from Key West. In 2021, the City honored these men who served in the face of adversity with a memorial in the Key West Veterans Memorial Garden at Bayview Park, a ceremony that was attended by many, including children and great grandchildren of the 13. The engraved monument lists the names of all; Clarence Alce Sr., George Carey, Charles A. Allen, Sr., Ralph Williams, Nathan B. Tynes, Robert B. Sawyer, Sr., Nathaniel W. Mickens, Charles G. Manuel, William C. Johnson, Sr., Shedrack M.A. Hannibal, Timothy E. Johnson, James Hall, and Vernol H. Carey. It is located near a separate monument dedicated to the Black Union soldiers who were recruited from Key West to fight in the Civil War. |
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