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Support grows for black-owned businesses in Clark County amid protests

Push for racial justice inspires consumers to spend dollars where it helps

By Calley Hair, Columbian staff writer

Published: June 6, 2020, 6:05am

4 Photos

Natalie Oliver of Vancouver, left, picks up an order from Dorothy Golson at Golson's food cart, Southern Girl Delights. Golson said she opened the food cart in Hazel Dell a year ago, with a menu inspired by her upbringing in Alabama. "I always followed my mom around in the kitchen," she said. (Photos by Alisha Jucevic/The Columbian) Photo Gallery

Dorothy Golson’s food truck in Hazel Dell, Southern Girl Delights, is a one-woman operation that she says usually sees around seven to 10 customers per day.

But since protests for racial justice have sprung up around the country — and with them, calls for supporting black-owned businesses — her food truck has started to gain some extra attention. That attention is translating into more customers.

One woman approached the truck on Thursday and told Golson she’d read about Southern Girl Delights on a list of black-owned businesses circulating online. Golson said the woman then bought dinner for her whole family and promised she would tell all her co-workers about the food.

“When I checked on Facebook today, several people had shared my post and said, ‘This is a good way to show support,’ ” Golson said.

Black-owned businesses in Clark County

The following list is not the end-all comprehensive roster of every company in Clark County owned by a black person. The Columbian reached out to the owner of every business on this list and received permission to include them here. If you know of some businesses that don't appear, it's for one of three reasons:

• They declined to be featured,

• We haven't heard back from them yet, or

• We missed them.

Eateries

• Daddy D's

https://www.daddydsbbq.com

Vancouver: 7204 N.E. Fourth Plain Blvd.

360-892-4418

Woodland: 1243 N. Goerig St.

360-841-8154

• Fort Bayou BBQ

https://www.fortbayoubbq.com

5755 N.E. 121st Ave., Vancouver

360-314-4011

• Southern Girl Delights

https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Food---Beverage/Southern-Girl-Delights-483531185726623

1015 N.E. 78th Street, Vancouver

678-860-1567

Hair, beauty, tattoos

• Bloom Beauty Collective

https://www.bloombeautycollective.com

330 N.E. Chkalov Drive, Vancouver

571-882-2422

• D's Hair and Beauty Supply

https://dshairandbeauty.com

3318 E. 4th Plain Blvd., Vancouver

360-984-6453

• fyd mi ink tattoo boutique

http://www.fydbac.com/fydmiink

504 Washington St. Suite 8, Vancouver

424-236-2382

• Generations Barber Shop

https://www.facebook.com/BarbershopGenerations

2700 Andresen Rd. Suite D-12, Vancouver

360-984-5489

• The Tonsor

https://thetonsor.com

617 Main St., Vancouver

360-859-3846

Other small businesses

• A Better Shine Motor Detailing

http://www.abettershine.com

360-355-6218

21815 N.E. Rodda Road, Battle Ground

• ANC Movers

https://ancmovers.com

5305 N.E. 121st Ave., No. 106, Vancouver

360-992-8702

• Creative Catering by Dorothy

creativecateringbydorothy.com

678-860-1567

• The James Jewelry

https://www.instagram.com/thejamesjewelry

3021 N.E. 72nd St., Vancouver

971-401-4319

• Om Thrive Yoga

https://omthrive.org

9208 N.E. Highway 99, Vancouver

971-291-0972

Online vendors

• Helen Rose Skincare

https://helenroseco.com

Mailing Address: 9208 N.E. Highway 99, No. 107-323, Vancouver, WA 98665

helenroseskincare@gmail.com

• Ichigo Trading Company

https://ichigotradingcompany.com

• Nimble Fern

https://nimblefernco.com

nimblefern@gmail.com

• NW Scents/The Franklin and Franklin Company

https://www.nwscents.com

1-262-478-2483

Mailing address: P.O. Box 6271, Vancouver, WA 98668

• Oils by Oscar

https://www.facebook.com/OILSBYOSCAR

971-401-4319

Born in Alabama, Golson has spent her life bouncing between Vancouver and a few states around the South. She’d first channeled her culinary talents into a catering company, and then launched the food truck business in August.

Her favorite thing on the menu? Shrimp and grits. The mission is right there in the name: She’s a Southern girl, and she makes food that delights.

“I always followed my mom around in the kitchen,” Golson said, as she moved around her food truck at noon on Friday, preparing for the lunch crowd. “Started up with an Easy-Bake Oven, then I moved on to the big stuff.”

Patronizing black-owned businesses is one way to show support for the community. That’s true right now, said Jasmine Tolbert, vice president of the Vancouver chapter of the NAACP, but it’s also true that the community needs support even outside times of crisis.

“Don’t just be involved when tragedy hits. Find a way to be involved all year-round,” Tolbert said.

Protesting and demonstrating is one way, Tolbert added, but it’s not the only way. The NAACP needs volunteers to help organize its major events, like today’s Car Rally for Black Lives, which is expected to draw around 1,500 vehicles.

There’s no shortage of people volunteering to help organize, Tolbert said, but many of the people coming forward are new to the cause — inspiring, certainly, but tricky from a practical standpoint, because she doesn’t have time to personally train them all. Turning up for the organization all the time, not just during a national wave of protests, means that there’s a cadre of familiar faces ready to pitch in when tragedy strikes, she said.

Outside of donating time, people looking to show support can also donate money, Tolbert said. The NAACP’s Legal Defense fund accepts donations online.

Allyship can also include efforts as simple as research, she said. Books, documentaries and articles about the legacies of slavery and racial injustice are readily available, for anyone who decides to look.

“Really taking time to educate themselves and their friends, taking the burden off the people of color — and black people, specifically — in needing to explain things,” Tolbert said.

One local black entrepreneur, Oscar James, runs two businesses out of Vancouver: James Jewelry, a husband-wife shop that makes and sells handmade jewelry, and Oils by Oscar, a botanical bath products business. He summed up his approach toward showing support in a succinct video posted to the Oils by Oscar Facebook page.

“You want to know how to actually show some solidarity?” James asked. “Spend money with black businesses. Simple as that.”

Nonprofits aid black community

In the wake of George Floyd's death, people may be looking for ways to support black causes either with their wallets or their time.

"There are lots of opportunities when people say, 'How can I help?' " said Karen Morrison, founder of Odyssey World International Education Services.

Her nonprofit is one of many in Clark County -- some big, some small -- rooted in the black community.

• NAACP Vancouver -- The Vancouver NAACP branch formed in 1945 as black families drawn to the area during wartime sought the American Dream; the branch aimed to combat and eradicate the racial discrimination that confronted people in the pursuit of that dream. At noon today, NAACP Vancouver is hosting a "Car Rally for Black Lives" in memory of George Floyd and all black people killed due to racism and police brutality.

Website: naacpvancouverwa.org

Facebook: facebook.com/VancouverNAACP

• YWCA Clark County -- The mission of this local YWCA branch is to eliminate racism, empower women and promote peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all. YWCA Clark County joined its national counterpart in calling for justice for George Floyd and has a memorial for him outside its Main Street facility.

Website: ywcaclarkcounty.org

Facebook: facebook.com/ywcacc

Contact: 360-696-0167 or info@ywcaclarkcounty.org

• Get Hooked Foundation -- Founder Dishaun Berry grew up in a gang-impacted area of Santa Monica, Calif., and went fishing to escape his reality. Now a Washougal resident, Berry founded the Get Hooked Foundation about four years ago to introduce the outdoors and sport fishing to at-risk youth and families in the Portland metro area. Get Hooked Foundation holds fishing events, promotes healthy living and aims to break down the stereotype that the outdoors are only for white people.

Website: gethookedfoundation.org

Facebook: facebook.com/Get-Hooked-129753697736575

Phone: 360-991-2087

• The Noble Foundation -- A grassroots nonprofit, The Noble Foundation says its mission is to ensure all marginalized communities are able to gain connections, knowledge and empowerment to build a more just, equitable, and healthy society. Among its ongoing efforts is educating people about the 2020 census.

Website: thenoblefoundation.org

Facebook: facebook.com/TheNobleFoundation501c3

Phone: 360-635-5235

• Our Place/Nuestra Casa Multicultural Center -- An initiative of The Noble Foundation, the new multicultural center has locations in Kelso and Vancouver. This BIPOC-led (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) organization aims to provide a safe space in Southwest Washington to support communities of color and vulnerable community members.

Facebook: facebook.com/pg/ourplacenuestracasa/posts

• SW Washington Communities United for Change -- This nonprofit is a grassroots, community-based organization that came together to support BIPOC and marginalized community members to dismantle systems of oppression and support Southwest Washington community members through civic engagement. For instance, the group in January demonstrated against racial taunts Hudson Bay's basketball players said they received when the teams played in Kelso.

Website: swcuc.life

Facebook: facebook.com/swwcuc

Phone: 360-762-1451

• Odyssey World International Education Services -- Started in 2006 by Karen Morrison in Spokane, Odyssey World International Education Services relocated to Vancouver in 2014. The all-volunteer organization advocates for social justice and provides services for marginalized families and young people impacted by poverty. Among its recent efforts, the nonprofit offered COVID-19 testing at Community AME Zion Church, one of the few black churches in Clark County. It also collected and distributed culturally specific hygiene products for black people who are homeless. Morrison said there are plenty of volunteer opportunities.

Website: odysseyworld.org

Facebook: facebook.com/Odyssey-World-International-Education-Services-161791690528272

Contact: 360-326-8565 or info@odysseyworld.org

• Hands of Favor -- Retired hairstylist and instructor Derek Thompson makes frequent trips to area homeless shelters and charities to provide free haircuts and grooming services for those in need.

Website: handsfavor.com

Facebook: facebook.com/HANDSofFAVOR

Contact: 360-326-3914 or handsoffavor2@gmail.com

Add to the list

Know another nonprofit that should be added to this list? Email reporter Patty Hastings at patty.hastings@columbian.com