Black vendors filled New Birth Church for the event, drawing shoppers eager to support local entrepreneurs and celebrate community empowerment.

STONECREST, Ga. — Shoppers packed into New Birth Missionary Baptist Church on Saturday for the Bullseye Black Market, an event created to spotlight and support Black-owned businesses. From handmade jackets to jewelry and wellness goods, vendors filled the church campus hoping to connect with customers who want to shop local and shop Black.

Gerald Dean, who owns Been to the Bayou, said events like this help people discover what Black entrepreneurs are creating.

“I think it’s important for us to come out and support the community and actually educate ourselves on what products we have in the Black community because how can you buy Black if you don’t know what Black has to offer,” Dean said.

Pastor Jamal Bryant launched the market earlier this year, including a similar event in June for Juneteenth. One of the returning vendors, Renee Alexander of Mrs. Renee’s Health Solutions, said the support she’s received allows her to help her family and others.

“It allowed me to reinvest more money into my business and help college students, one of my own, which is my daughter. So, the money, when you support my business, it helps support me and my family to be able to provide a living for us as well,” Alexander said.

Bryant has been outspoken since February about calling for a boycott of Target after the company cut back some of its diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. The Bullseye Black Market is his effort to emphasize economic empowerment by giving Black vendors a space to thrive.

Vendor Stephanie Aristote, who runs Mother of Seamoss, said the market also allows her daughters to see what entrepreneurship looks like firsthand.

“I love that my girls are able to see it, that way when they get older they can go, ‘You know what, mommy did it, I can do it. Auntie is doing it. We can do it.’ So, just being role models really,” Aristote said.

The market will be open again Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

11Alive’s Chase Houle also reached out to Target for a statement regarding Pastor Bryant’s repeated calls to Boycott the company and a spokesperson wrote, “With over 400,000 team members and a footprint in all 50 states, Target has a long-standing commitment to creating growth and opportunity for all. We work every day to unlock potential and create lasting impact by empowering entrepreneurs, supporting small businesses, uplifting our team members and strengthening the 2,000+ communities we operate in.”

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