Local Black businesses in Chillicothe

CHILLICOTHE ― February is Black History Month — a time to highlight the culture and recognize the struggles Black people faced for freedom and equal opportunities in the United States.

One way to celebrate this month is to shop at or visit local Black-owned businesses and on W. Main St. in Chillicothe, three businesses sit side to side and are all Black-owned.

One of those businesses is Luqie’s Boutique, which is owned by Lawrence Barnes. He started his business as a way to celebrate and reflect his culture.

“Luqie’s Boutique was born from a vision to make high-quality fashion accessible to families without sacrificing style,” Barnes said. “It’s a brand that stands for affordability, creativity and community support.”

Barnes said that he has had to jump some hurdles to get his business running, but has learned how to overcome them.

“From gaining visibility to navigating access to resources,” Barnes said. “But through persistence, community support and relentless commitment to my vision, I’ve learned that success is possible. Every obstacle has been a lesson and every achievement has been a testament to the power of resilience.”

Others like Lorene Washington, owner of Ls Everything in Sports, which sells sports apparel, said as someone who grew up in segregated Mississippi she believes more than anything that people should support Black entrepreneurs.

“Blacks need that support because we aren’t the vast population in the community,” Washington said. “I say that it is very important because of things that the average Black entrepreneur has to go through in order to just get started and it’s really tremendous.”

Owner of Undisputed Faith-Based Barber Shop, Jemar Harris, said he started his business after seeing a need for a gospel-centered business in the area.

“Customers might be having a terrible day, you might change their day with a simple haircut or just by listening to them,” Harris said.

Though Black-owned, Harris said he doesn’t look at his barber shop as just a Black business.

“It’s just who landed here,” Harris said. “We got a job to do, whether it’s Black, White, whatever it is. That’s called community. With the history, did we as Black people go through some things? Yes, we did but we overcame and we came a long way.”