Black-owned businesses make up only a fraction of the U.S. market and are underrepresented on college campuses. For student entrepreneurs like Lawerence Johnson, every sale is more than a transaction—it celebrates community pride and empowerment.
Johnson, director of advertisement for the CSUN Black Student Union (BSU), expressed his love and gratitude for the newly refurbished Black House, which hosted its first-ever Black Flea Market on Feb. 20, organized by the BSU. He encouraged as many people as possible to visit, find networking opportunities, or simply participate in building community.
“If you show us love, we’ll show you love,” he said. “Everybody is very supportive, it’s like family. You can’t run away from people, you feel me? You’re going to see people. I went from not knowing any people who looked like me. Soon as I come to the Black House, it’s like every person that I run into that’s Black, it’s like ‘I know them!’”
Johnson also showcased his role as the director and co-owner of Black Galaxy Productions, which he runs alongside two friends. The company specializes in creating content such as commercials, music videos and event coverage. They also provide access to car rentals and modeling agencies.
“We want to take people’s visions and manifest it on the screen, to take what they see and put it into real life,” Johnson said. “I feel like there’s few things that really matter in this world, and I feel like leaving a positive impression and being able to live out and put somebody’s dream in front of their face is all worth it.”
Being sponsored and displayed at the flea market was a huge opportunity for Johnson. Since joining the Union, Johnson has made his videos stand out with a curated intro that makes any BSU content recognizable to CSUN students. His goal is to evoke a strong emotion while watching his videos, or else he is doing something wrong.
“I like just coming together, just seeing a common space, and everybody’s working, everybody is on something,” Johnson said. “It’s not only a place where you can grow, but it’s also very motivating and such a positive environment.”
BSU President Hermoni Douglas reminisced about growing up and attending swap meets, flea markets, and Juneteenth celebrations, expressing the importance of supporting Black-owned businesses, especially those started by students on the CSUN campus.
“The importance is that, in going back to Black history, we’re not meant to succeed in this society that was built for white people, white men exactly,” she said. “So when you see black business owners going out there and break generational curses, where their family was probably poor, now they’re building generational wealth, it’s very important to support that and uplift black-owned businesses.”
The union emphasized its commitment to fostering community engagement and building connections across all campus groups, not just within the BSU. Among the various booths at the flea market, a nail business, crocheting and an original clothing brand were invited, including the Nigerian Student Association (NSA), which has recently gained recognition as an official club at CSUN. NSA Co-President and Co-Founder, Mildred Adebowale, brought her clothing brand, ‘With God, I Win!’, which she founded in 2020.
Adebowale explained that before taking matters into her own hands, she did not feel represented as a Christian through other clothing brands in the way she wanted. This led her to make and sell comfortable and affordable clothing items, promoting faith.
Through her brand, which she has showcased at UCLA events, Adebowale shared her desire to foster deeper personal connections through prayer while staying engaged via Instagram and social media. For the Black House event, BSU personally reached out to her.
“They got in contact with me, so I don’t know if it was word of mouth or God’s blessings,” Adebowale said. “They said they wanted my brands to be here, so I answered.”
Another student who promoted their self-started businesses was Marz, who showcased crochet creations she learned to make seven years ago and named her business Marz Bars Crochet.
Inspired by her grandmother, Marz learned about the event through the BSU social media and brought several creations to showcase and sell, from small critter keychains to large scarves and hats.
As more students launch their businesses, CSUN offers more entrepreneurship programs and resources to support them. The BSU also provides its support and other outreach opportunities through events. Students can contact the BSU for more information on upcoming events through their Instagram or MataSync.
