The Santa Clarita Black Business Council hosted its second annual Black Business Month celebration last week at California Institute of the Arts, where they presented awards to three honorees.
Di Thompson, Black Business Council president and 2025 chair-elect for the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce, spearheaded the event and said that it was important for Santa Clarita to be able to have a sense of community in place for people of color.
“The whole premise behind the celebration is to uplift and empower and inspire,” Thompson said. “I can’t even really put into words how proud I am that this event is happening, and that this council exists. This space exists, and it lifts a burden from people so that they can have someone to lean on or lean into.”
The three honorees of the event included SCV Director of Recreation and Community Services Janine Prado, Booku Po’Boys owner Rayshun Parkman and Moriah Medical College Director Meagan Jackson.
John Musella, former chair of the SCV Chamber of Commerce, said that he felt like it was important to spotlight the Black businesses within the community, and that the chamber wanted to focus on diversity by supporting events like the Black Business Month celebration.
“We have a lot of Black businesses that give back to our community and do so much, and it’s important to recognize their achievements and all they contribute to Santa Clarita,” Musella said.
The chamber’s Black Business Council was formed in 2022, when Thompson has been serving as the council’s chair.
“I am so honored to be here because it gives us an opportunity to focus on a community that is far too often underrepresented when it comes to access capital and opportunities to build wealth,” Thompson said. “We celebrate the contributions of Black business owners and entrepreneurs. It pays respect to them and their liberties.”
The Venue Valencia owner Tamara Pickering, who also presented some of the awards to the event’s honorees, said that it was good to be able to see the community come together.
“I wanted to thank the sponsors because it’s really hard to go above and beyond, to give us, to allow us to be able to have this kind of gathering so we can get here, as each of us brown, white and Black faces together,” Pickering said. “We can come together as a community, regardless of what our beliefs are, because even today, we all want the same thing right? We want to be happy and fortunate.”
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