Roger Caldwell, West Orlando News
- The Black Business Community in downtown Orlando is dying a slow death. At one time this downtown corridor was a renaissance of Black entrepreneurs and merchants. There existed pedestrian, automobile traffic, and future plans for a thriving and successful Black Business community.
The African American community in Orlando was extremely proud of this section of Church Street because it exemplified the aspirations, hopes, and dreams of the civil rights movement. The city of Orlando had established a partnership with these Black merchants by creating an ‘incubator’ to help minority businesses expand and grow. This economic empowerment zone would give Black merchants an opportunity to live the American dream.
This dream in the last few years has turned into a nightmare. There was probably at the height of the renaissance 25 merchants with diverse merchandise and different businesses. Today, there are 11 Shops located at the West Side Church Street Marketplace in downtown Orlando. Many of the businesses are currently negatively impacted by the construction of the new Magic Arena.
