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These women are breaking down barriers in fashion, art, lifestyle, beauty, and food.

AS TOLD TO: ALISON S. COHN AUG 25, 2020

August marks the 17th annual National Black Business Month, which shines the spotlight on Black-owned businesses across the United States. And there has never been a more urgent time to commit to always supporting Black-owned businesses.

According to a recent study published by the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, the total number of American businesses plummeted by 3.3 million, or 22 percent, from February through April due to the economic slowdown brought on by COVID-19. It was the largest drop on record. And Black-owned business owners were hit especially hard: Nearly 440,000 shuttered their companies for good, a 41 percent plunge.

So to keep Black-owned businesses at the forefront long beyond awareness month, Harper’s BAZAAR is recognizing six entrepreneurs from New York to Oakland in our September issue. Breaking barriers in fashion, art, lifestyle, beauty, and food, these incredible women also use their platforms to uplift other Black small business owners. Get to know them below.

Joeonna Bellorado-Samuels

THE 41-YEAR-OLD GALLERIST IS OPENING UP THE ART WORLD TO NEW VOICES AND AUDIENCES.

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I’m really interested in ideas around access and who gets to see art where. I’m a director at Jack Shainman Gallery in Manhattan. I also opened my own project space, We Buy Gold, around the corner from where I live in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn.

Toyin Ojih Odutola’s Paris Apartment, 2016–2017. © TOYIN OJIH ODUTOLA, COURTESY THE ARTIST AND JACK SHAINMAN GALLERY, NEW YORK

My job often involves taking a backseat and supporting an artist in every way possible along their journey. Toyin Ojih Odutola is having her first solo international museum exhibition at London’s Barbican Centre. I’ve worked with her at Jack Shainman since she was a student nearly a decade ago, and to be there from the early stages is an honor.

An online show Nina Chanel Abney curated for We Buy Gold this past June featured works that help articulate what it feels like to be living in this strange moment. Thenjiwe Niki Nkosi’s video piece “Suspension” features footage of 28 gymnasts in the moment right before they compete. It’s just so heavy with anxiety and anticipation.

A still featuring Dianne Durham from Thenjiwe Niki Nkosi’s Suspension (Sierra Brooks, Daisha Cannon, Luci Collins, Olivia Courtney, Naveen Daries ...), 2020. © THENJIWE NIKI NKOSI. COURTESY STEVENSON, CAPE TOWN AND JOHANNESBURG

I’m always in all black and big glasses. It’s quite the cliché. We do it to ourselves, right? The frames are Grey Ant, a brand I discovered through my friend Maxwell Osborne of Public School. He has an incredible sense of style and a commitment to social justice that I admire.

My mom worked in early childhood development and also co-owned a shoe store. I have the most vivid memory from my childhood of this perfect shoe—it was a pointy cobalt blue heel with a yellow fan embellishment. But the older I get, the more I’m drawn to comfort. I love a sparkling white Air Force 1 sneaker.

I also have a big collection of novelty earrings. Gold $100 bills are among my favorites. I got them at the Slauson Super Mall in L.A. Buying gold there is a bit of a rite of passage.

Sherri McMullen

THE 46-YEAR-OLD OWNER OF THE FASHION BOUTIQUE MCMULLEN MAKES SHOWCASING THE WORK OF UP-AND-COMING BLACK DESIGNERS HER MISSION.

Some people thought I was crazy to open a luxury boutique in Oakland. But I knew I wanted to build something unique in a city that I love dearly. McMullen has always been about supporting women and designers of color. It’s a safe space where our customers can experiment and discover new talent.

We carry the Nigerian sustainable luxury brands Lisa Folawiyo and Zashadu exclusively in the U.S. I admire the work that goes into their designs—the intricate hand beading and hand-dyed details—and the commitment they have to working with local women artisans.

When I was growing up, my style inspirations were my mother, my grandmothers, and my aunts. I was raised in Oklahoma City in a large, tight-knit Midwestern family. I fell in love with fashion seeing them in printed shift dresses, head scarves, caftans, cowboy boots, gloves, hats, and turbans. My first job in retail was at Limited Express at age 15.

I go with the unexpected for evening events. An Aisling Camps fringe dress, say, with flat sandals and a head scarf and big cuff.

I wear my signature gold hoops from Khiry or Ariel Gordon almost every day. I also add a gold ring, bangles, and one to three layered necklaces.

I have many of my late mother’s dresses from the ’70s. Some are unraveling, but I feel close to her when I wear them around my house. There's a red floral one that reminds me of summers in Oklahoma.

Gordon Parks’s Untitled, Shady Grove, Alabama, 1956 © THE GORDON PARKS FOUNDATION, COURTESY THE GORDON PARKS FOUNDATION AND JACK SHAINMAN GALLERY, NEW YORK

I like how Vintner’s Daughter serum makes my skin glow. I don’t have to use additional moisturizer over it thanks to all of the essential oils.

Solange’s most recent album, When I Get Home, is one of my all-time favorites. I also love Synchronicity, by the Police; Sign O’ The Times, by Prince; and everything by Whitney Houston.

Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God is a novel everyone should read. Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man is another.

Gordon Parks captured the essence of Black people’s everyday life during a time when they felt invisible. His photographs made them feel seen.

I mentor young women interested in fashion. I feel strongly that me being a Black woman in my position means that I have a responsibility to make sure that more people who look like me understand that they have a place in this industry.

Kia Damon

THE 26-YEAR-OLD SUPPER CLUB FROM NOWHERE CHEF IS BRINGING NUTRITIOUS FOOD TO UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES

The inspiration for my Supper Club From Nowhere is civil rights leader Georgia Gilmore’s Club From Nowhere, which sold meals to raise money for the Montgomery bus boycott. I’m finalizing a lease on a new kitchen space in Downtown Brooklyn where chef friends and I can hold socially distanced dinners.I plan to build out a co-op in the front of the space, where members of the community can use WIC and SNAP to buy fresh, high-quality produce.

I biked food to protesters this past spring, and I see my Kia Feeds the People Program as an extension of that. Not having access to affordable healthy food is one of the key ways our community is disenfranchised.

My grandma was a great cook. I became head chef at the Cali-Latin restaurant Lalito in Manhattan at 24, but I still don’t think my family believes cooking is what I do professionally. They remember me burning rice when I was a kid in Orlando.

I love making fried pig ears as a snack for gatherings with friends. And I developed a recipe for a duck confit mac and cheese that I’m really proud of.

I like to listen to music when I cook. My girlfriend, Stas Thee Boss, makes these Spotify playlists called Late Night Sauce. She’s a DJ and producer, and puts together good stuff like Noname, Saweetie, and Dua Saleh. She’s much better at making playlists than I am. I'll just listen to Megan Thee Stallion over and over.

I’ve been reading a lot of older cookbooks, like The Dooky Chase Cookbook by Leah Chase. I’m enjoying diving into Creole and Cajun cuisine, and I’m learning more about my family’s heritage and connection to Louisiana.

I have a grill from Helen With the Gold Teeth that I love. I wear it whenever I can with Fenty Gloss Bomb in Fenty Glow.

I would be a sneakerhead if I had the money. I bought six pairs of Nikes during quarantine. I’m like, “Girl, for what? Where are we going with these Melody Ehsani cherry basketball shoes?”

I also got a baby blue Telfar bag and Margiela Tabi boots. So whenever I next go to a museum in, like, 2023, I’ll be set.

I always wear a head scarf in the kitchen. My favorite is by artist Lilian Martinez, who does abstract paintings of, say women’s bodies, a basketball, and Lisa Simpson. It's really odd to say it out loud, but it’s so beautiful when you look at it.

Sharon Chuter

THE 33-YEAR-OLD FOUNDER AND CEO OF UOMA BEAUTY BELIEVES THAT AMBITION MEANS EQUITY AND INCLUSIVITY

When you grow up in Nigeria, you don’t really understand race in the way you do once you leave. You’re not “different.” I mean, I was always considered a weirdo and a misfit, but not because of the color of my skin. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s novel Americanah does an incredible job of telling the story of a Nigerian immigrant.

The word “uoma” means beautiful in Igbo. It was critical to make my brand name mean some-thing in my local language. That was me reclaiming my Nigerian heritage.

My Say What?! Foundation comes in 51 shades, but it goes beyond that. Common concerns for fair skin are hypersensitivity, redness, and dryness, where as mine are oiliness and hyperpigmentation. We created six custom formulas to cater to these needs.

My Bad Ass Icon lipsticks celebrate that well-behaved women seldom make history. I named the shades for women I admire, like Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, the first woman to drive a car in Nigeria and an activist extraordinaire.

Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti EVERETT COLLECTION/SHUTTERSTOCK

I’ve simplified my beauty regimen during quarantine in LA. Now I really just focus on base, and use my Brow-Fro Blow Out Gel to get my eyebrows popping.

I’ve worked for several major beauty brands before founding Uoma Beauty. I found that the only way to succeed in corporate was to remove my Blackness. I was told it was unprofessional to wear braids to work.

I started the Pull Up or Shut Up campaign to encourage beauty brands to release the number of Black employees they have a the corporate and executive levels. We’re going to continue to ask them to pull up every six months to make sure we’re seeing progress.

Bob Marley is one of my biggest inspirations. He used his platform to do good. My goal is to try to push forward an agenda of inclusivity and advocate for a world that is fairer too all.

My style is eclectic but classic—I jump in and out. I’ll wear Pyer Moss streetwear, and I also love a nice, tight LaQuan Smith pencil skirt.

I haven’t bought much recently, but when I do I’m choosing pieces from Black designers. Off-White’s strappy sandals are a new addition to my rotation.

Felisha Noel

THE 33-YEAR-OLD DESIGNER OF FE NOEL WANTS FASHION TO EMBRACE A MORE DIVERSE RANGE OF CULTURAL NARRATIVES

The past few months have been an emotional roller coaster. I had my first solo show at New York Fashion Week in February. The collection was inspired by Grenada, where my family is from, and the response was amazing. Then everything went quiet for a while. Fortunately for business, my signature sheer robes are really great to wear around the house. Even Beyoncé has one.

I love the emotional factor of fashion and what it does for women. I want you to feel like a celebrity when you wear Fe Noel, even if it’s just for date night in your living room.

I call myself a “fairytalist.” I like very pretty clothes. That’s what pushed me to begin designing a collection that really matched my personality. Before that I owned a vintage store in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, which I opened when I was 19.

Harmonia Rosales’s Our Lady of Regla, 2019 COURTESY THE MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN DIASPORAN ARTS, BROOKLYN

I aim for a mixture of Bianca Jagger and Diana Ross. There’s sort of implied sexiness and glamour to my pieces. My designs often feature plunging necklines and silhouettes that skim over your body or lightly hug your curves.

I’m always in one of our loose-fitting, wide-legged pants because they can be dressed up or down. I wear them with sneakers to run errands or with a pair of fringed Loza Maléombho heels for brunch.

When Michelle Obama wore Fe Noel pants on her book tour, the news went to Grenada in 0.5 seconds. My family was so proud. My grandmother was literally screaming!

I never leave home without M.A.C. Ruby Woo lipstick. My other beauty essentials include Taliah Waajid African Healing Oyl, which I use as a body moisturizer. I also use serums made from Jamaican superfruits by my dermatologist Dr. Rosemarie Ingleton. She really turned my skin around.

Michelle Obama in Fe Noel SUZANNE CORDEIRO/SHUTTERSTOCK

My favorite musician is Burna Boy. I also like soca calypso artists including Mr. Killa, Machel Montano, Patrice Roberts, Nailah Blackman, and Kes.

Harmonia Rosales’s Renaissance-style paintings of Black women take my breath away. It’s important to create new ways of seeing and new narratives. She collaborated on a print for my Spring 2020 collection that depicts the African goddess Oshun as Botticelli's Venus.

I founded a non-profit called Dream in Color. We offer mentorships to young people starting creative businesses to help them turn their talent into their livelihood.

Shannon Maldonado

THE 37-YEAR-OLD FOUNDER OF THE LIFESTYLE BOUTIQUE YOWIE IS COMMITTED TO SUPPORTING DESIGNERS AND ARTISANS OF COLOR

One inspiration for Yowie was a vivid Studio Arhoj ceramic tumbler I found on a trip to Copenhagen. I had been working in New York City as a designer for Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger, and I remember thinking,“What if I could collect goods from all over and create stories around what they make me feel?” I opened the boutique in my hometown of Philadelphia.

Sara Ekua Todd’s ceramics evoke a peaceful feeling and come in the most perfect hues. I’m also so inspired by the textures and colors of Louise Sullivan of One Eye Ceramics work, and I love her reimagination of everyday objects like tumblers and bowls.

There are often hidden easter eggs in the things we design for the store. One of our candles was inspired by a women I used to work with and this fantasy origin story that I dreamed up for her.

My personal style is nostalgic tomboy. I’m always looking for high-waisted CK jeans with the perfect pocket-to-cheek ratio. I also love wild, colorful sneakers.

I really like the new clothing, but supersoft vintage pieces that you can tell had a great past are pure magic. So many of my favorite T-shirts are collaborations that we make for Yowie or thrifted things.

Nick Cave’s Tondo, 2018 © NICK CAVE, COURTESY THE ARTIST AND JACK SHAINMAN GALLERY, NEW YORK

I found a small comb charm at a shop in New York’s Chinatown called New Top Jewelry that holds a special place in my heart. The hot comb is such a symbol of Blackness and the beauty standards that we've been fed for decades.

I just picked up Kiley Reid’s Such a Fun Age, and I’m excited to dive in. And Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing is one of my all-time favorite reads.

The context of Nick Cave’s art mixed with his use of color and texture is so impressive. Even when the subject matter is heavy, there are always elements of joy and celebration.

I was emotionally broken seeing the police killings and was ignited to share my personal stories of racism. I’m using my platform to speak on local policy issues, and challenging brands and publications that reach out to us to share a long-term strategy to feature Black voices.

LEAD IMAGE CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: LAUREN COWART, TRICIA TURNER, SEAN DONNOLA, BENNETT RAGLIN/GETTY IMAGES, JARED SCHLACHET/JSQUAREDPHOTOGRAPHY.COM, and EMMA FISHMAN/BON APPÉTIT © CONDÉ NAST. DESIGN BY INGRID FRAHM

This article originally appears in the September 2020 issue of Harper's BAZAAR, available on newsstands September 8.

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