The Last Melanin Market In Willingboro 

Written by Cutty 

The Melanin Market was the place to be on March 25th, as it was the last Melain Market in Willingboro, NJ, originally where the event began. Marweezz, Cory, and their team do an amazing job putting it all together for us. There were over 100+ different businesses in the building, all black owned. The Melanin Market was created to give black owned businesses a place to meet their community. This year was no different; it was filled with over 1,000 people coming in and out. The whole Willingboro community came out to support the event, and with Marweezz announcing the official expansion of the Melanin Market, he went to let us know this is the last one in Willingboro. He wants to leave it where it is and leave the Willingboro residents with the memories of this amazing event, and he wants them to travel out to the other cities where the melanin market will be. This kind of event has never been done, helping so many black-owned businesses connect with their communities. They went all out with the last one, having a fashion show, performers, a panel, and of course the vending part of the Melanin Market. This is how the last Melanin Market went from our perspective.

The last Melanin Market in Willingboro was exactly what we wanted it to be. Starting out the event with a panel, you got to hear from some of the successful black-owned businesses in the community. Shelby Parris, one of the panel speakers, let us know he was more than grateful to talk about his journey as he is now a 6x book author and Amazon best-selling author. He spoke about his not so easy journey and how everything that happened brought him to where he is today. We were able to see the fashion show as well. While they highlighted black-owned businesses, it was also Women's History Month, so there were multiple black female designers on the runway showing off their work. Sole of Vintage Extinction talked about how important it was to her to be apart of the fashion show and show her community the talent that’s here right in Willingboro. She showed off various different sets that the people enjoyed. This was only the beginning, as the fashion show was one of the biggest highlights of the show run by James Dewalt.

There were so many opportunities given out in the Melanin Market for black-owned businesses of all kinds. They also highlighted talented people, as we were able to see Jae sing live, who was the kid performer of the night. She was only 15 years old and had the whole room paying attention when she sang. We were happy to see the stage being opened to someone of her age to let her know what she can do with her talent. The performances of the night were all very unique and different. Ether, an artist we spoke with, had a very positive and conscious message in his music that lifted the room. While other performers like Jo Rivers filled your heart with love as you heard her sing. You can tell every performer was handpicked and put on the stage for a reason. They did not disappoint with the entertainment part at all. Seeing a well-rounded event like this is beautiful. If you were here for the 100+ black-owned businesses or the fashion show, or maybe to support a local act, you had a great time. We are proud to say that this was history made and started all in Willingboro, NJ. Coming to a city near you, follow Melanin Market for more details.

Photos by Cutty