The Black Business Association of Amherst Area (BBAAA) was established in 2016, after a group of Black business owners came together to support and empower one another.

The BBAAA’s focus is to “develop and grow [its members’] businesses through education, networking, marketing, advocacy, leadership, and access to business resources,” according to their website.

“The BBAAA is interested in a more expansive vision of economic development for the Amherst area,” BBAAA secretary Amilcar Shabazz said. “BBAAA is dedicated to reminding our policymakers, our government officials, our larger business community and the public at large that … the reality of systemic and structural racial discrimination, prejudice and how it continues to impact our community is something that we have to stay intentional about and engaged with if we are ever going to fully eradicate those problems.”

Partnership and collective support are the pillars of the BBAAA as the association is entirely volunteer based. Members are able to receive assistance and mentorship in any stage of their personal entrepreneurial process.

Pat Ononibaku, the co-founder and current president of the BBAAA, said the organization tries to “meet people where they are,”.

Ononibaku believes this individualized approach is the best way to provide support to members. She said the traditional group workshop method often seen in business coaching is  not ideal for BBAAA members, as many are owners and operators of their businesses and cannot fit workshops into busy schedules.

Instead, Ononibaku and the BBAAA focus on digitally promoting their members’ businesses, expanding their member network and mentorship.

Ononibaku often gets phone calls from BBAAA members and gives advice on how to approach situations members are facing as business owners.

Although she refers to this type of support as “informal,” Ononibaku’s expertise as a longtime business owner makes it easy to understand why BBAAA members seek her advice. Ononibaku currently owns and operates BakuCare, an adult day health center in Hadley and previously owned and operated Baku’s African Restaurant in Amherst.

Ononibaku brings her extensive resume, knowledge and network from her experiences to other BBAAA members.

The success and growth of the BBAAA would also not be possible without Shabazz. An employee of the University of Massachusetts, as well as founder of Sankofa Gumbo Inc., a nonprofit organization in the Amherst area, Shabazz still finds time to dedicate to the BBAAA.

Shabazz also provides mentorship and guidance but also does much of the group’s digital promotion.

“Shabazz has been extremely helpful with the digital presence of the BBAAA,” Ononibaku said. “He is always posting on social media … that has really made us more visible.”

Visibility across the Amherst area has been crucial to the growth of the BBAAA.

Ononibaku said that the addition of the BBAAA to the Amherst town website as a listed business organization was a step in the right direction for the organization’s growth.

“We are talking about equity here,” Ononibaku said. “We cannot be an afterthought … we do contribute to the economic vitality of this town … we are a legitimate entity.”

Kathleen Anderson, a vice president of the BBAAA who is also a local artist and longtime Amherst resident, is proud of the gradual growth in members of the organization.

“I think I’d like to see an opportunity for us all to gather in person more regularly,” Anderson said. “Maybe to share some ideas on structure and accountability [in] various regulations that a business is required to address.”

Ononibaku echoed wanting BBAAA members to have the time and space to connect with each other on a regular basis, in addition to a paid, part-time staff that can work with the organization regularly.

“My dream … would be for us to be able to get enough financial resources … to have a space in Amherst that we call our own,” Ononibaku said.

Shabazz believes that the BBAAA’s ability to uplift and promote Black owned local businesses is vital to African American communities within Amherst.

When he and his partner were looking for somewhere to live in the Pioneer Valley in 2007, they stumbled on Baku’s African Restaurant downtown. The presence of African cuisine immediately drew them to living in Amherst.

“The development of Black businesses, that’s what it has the capacity to do,” Shabazz said. “It helps to anchor; it helps to attract African Americans who might live in this area.”

With so many college students in the Amherst area, Shabazz wants to use the continued development of African American businesses through organizations like the BBAAA to encourage students who attend college in Amherst to consider staying after graduation.

“[Amherst] is not just a transition point,” Shabazz said. “We like to think about students staying around here.”

Ononibaku is an example of this herself. A UMass alum, she decided to stay in Amherst to build her businesses and raise her family. Shabazz hopes to use the growth and development of the BBAAA as a way to keep more students in Amherst after graduation.

“I hope to see continued progress where this isn’t just a little New England college town, but rather a diverse welcoming of the global cultures of the world,” Shabazz said. “I hope there is more of that and that it’s expressed by supporting the business development, the entrepreneurs, the professionals who live here and network here.”

Madison Keddy can be reached at [email protected].