COLUMBUS, Ohio — It’s the busiest shopping weekend of the year and also the first “Blackout Weekend” in Columbus – an event to encourage buying from Black-owned businesses.

What You Need To Know

  • Columbus' first "Blackout Weekend" ends Saturday afternoon

  • It's set up by "We Mean Business," an organization that supports Black business owners in Ohio

  • The goal is to push "buying Black" during busiest shopping week of the year

DiShaundra Shehy is one of the business owners involved. She says the coronavirus pandemic gave her a reason to start her business, “Scents On Purpose.”

“We had a shutdown at my company, and that’s what kind of gave me a little bit of a push,” said Shehy.

Brandi Rogers is the woman behind “Blackout Weekend.” She is also the Owner and Founder of “We Mean Business,” the organization putting on the event.

“We wanted to make an impact through our financial impact because the Black dollar actually goes a very long way in the economy, so we wanted to reclaim it a bit,” said Rogers.

Rogers says she started “We Mean Business” to support Black culture and promote Black business owners in Ohio. This isn’t the first event she's organized, but she hopes it will be the largest.

“This is the biggest shopping weekend of the year, so we figured this is going to be the biggest impact with our goal.”

One to support business owners like Shehy and others in the Black community.

“We’ve been like so behind it’s like we’ve been behind-the-scenes. So, I feel like it’s time for us to officially come forward and get the support we need.”