ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT BUSINESS COMMUNITY EDUCATION POLITICS SPORTS COLUMNS HAVE A TIP?
Afri-Soul and Grassrootz give back to the Black community
By Gabriel Garza - January 24, 2023
An Afri-Soul sign inside of the store with a few traditional African pieces on display. (Gabriel Garza//Downtown Devil)
In the past, minorities in Phoenix tended to live further south, but as time progressed, the diversity spread far and wide to every corner
across the Valley.
At one point, Washington Street had several Black-owned businesses, but the number began to slowly dwindle over the years.
Darlene Little, who has a doctorate in education, had plans to preserve the culture of the area by opening Afri-Soul in 2018.
Black artists, musicians, photographers, entrepreneurs and other creators can sell their products and provide services at Afro-Soul.
There are currently around 25 businesses selling their wares in the space.
The business also provides meeting rooms, podcast rooms, a photo studio, an oMce space for a small business and a spa.
Little is retired, but took a job as an executive director for a nonproOt organization for a few years before opening the store
She continues her work because she feels that it is her mission in life to give back to the community and be a “small Black business
incubator.”
Her drive to open Afri-Soul is to help other Black-owned businesses, but it also came from her father, a former sharecropper.
“All our lives we’ve heard, ‘You don’t own anything unless you own property,’” Little said, “As I got more degrees and higher in my Oeld
of education, [my father] would always say to me, ‘That’s great but can you hire anybody, and can you Ore them, and do your own
company?’ And the answer was always no.”
Little started her Orst business with her husband in California. After visiting Africa several times, she started selling African imports at
the store. She later moved to Arizona where she opened Afri-Soul on Washington and 12th street.
Before entering, customers are met with a mural of several Black novelists. Above it reads, “Black Lives Matter”.
A mural of Black novelists, Alice Walker, Toni Morrison and Audre Lorde with “Black History Matters”
painted above. (Gabriel Garza//Downtown Devil)
Music created by only Black musicians is constantly playing and the space is engraved with traditional African artifacts, paintings and
clothing.
One of the many businesses at Afri-Soul is the Grassrootz Bookstore & Juice Bar, where the books sold are mainly focused around
Black history.
“It’s giving you the Black culture from a Black perspective and from somebody that actually lived and experienced it versus it coming
from a second source that did not experience or grow up in that type of situation,” Grassrootz store manager Kylie Chamblee said.
In an interview with AZ Mirror, Meskerem Glegziabher, director of inclusion and community engagement for the School of Human
Evolution and Social Change at Arizona State University, said, “The systemic and ongoing erasure of the trauma Black people in
America have experienced since the nation’s inception, often at the hands of the state, allows people to feign surprise every few years
when the killings of Black people erupt in widespread anger and protests.”
After the death of George Floyd in 2020, Grassrootz began to see an increase of interest in social justice books with customers
wanting to learn about critical race theory and Black culture.
For Chamblee, who is half Black and half Native Cherokee, places like Grassrootz provide a place where she can learn about that side
of her family and own her identity by connecting with people around her.
While Afri-Soul and Grassrootz primarily advertise towards helping the Black community, they value the importance of all cultures.
“We’re always very welcoming to anybody that comes in because that’s the whole point is we want to be treated equal, so we treat
everybody equally that comes into this space,” Chamblee said.
Little plans to make her business a nonproOt organization next year so she can write grants to bring services for businesses and
education for the community. She feels conOdent to do so with her past experience in the nonproOt sector.
Her hope is to create generational wealth for people, not just with money, but with life lessons.
Little said, “We have to make sure we don’t pass on our fear, we pass on our encouragements, all of our good things to our kids, but we
have to Orst recognize we have those fears.”
Downtown Phoenix FilmBar deOes pandemic odds, Downtown Phoenix markets perfect for Onding Downtown Digest: Coming 2 America, Fitness, and
remains open with community support unique holiday gifts DTPHX Dollars
April 19, 2021 November 20, 2021 March 1, 2021
© Downtown Devil 2023 Work With Us Downtown Devil Staff Advertising Corrections and Clarifications Daily Newsletter
