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Afrocentric market opens in Dudley Square

WBUR reports on the opening of Black Market, whose owner hopes to fill some of the void left when A Nubian Notion closed last year.

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Great news! Thanks

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with Boston Hassle's Black Market, which has been going on for a while now in different places around Boston and Cambridge.
"wait, there are no hipster home-made patches and old comic books for sale at this place!"

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With all of the new development and fears of gentrification, this is great news.

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What makes this store not an example of gentrification over other areas that have local store owners?

I know Nubian Notion was locally owned but so are a lot of stores in areas that have individual unique stores and not chain stores. How many chain stores do you see in, forgive me for writings this word, "SoWa"? The Ink Block doesn't count by the way.

If anything is West Broadway not gentrified according to this logic. I have seen a retreat of chains (Payless for example amongst others) in that area of the past few years.

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from the article:

"We believe in gentrifying our own community," Grant said. "We don't need a savior."

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The commentator apparently dislikes gentrification. I am just commenting on how typically when a local independent store opens up, people act like it is an agent of gentrification.

Here you have a local store opening up and somehow this isn't an agent of gentrification but of local business people in the community. It still seems like a step up towards doggie boutiques and blow out salons in the future to me.

Just remember, Nubian Notion sold Afrocentric goods but, it also sold Doritos and Lottery Tickets.

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Can't see any grounds for gentrification there. But in the black community there has been this idea, or belief, or truism even maybe that lots of 'other' people open up shop in predominantly black neighborhoods and drain the funds of that community. Regardless of opinion I think we can all agree a community is best served by re-investing in itself as much as possible. As for big box stores, they push out the mom and pop shops who have no chance of competing. And in some respects it opens the door for a neighborhood to be changed dramatically. I live in a predominantly black and minority area. There is a Whole Foods opening up which most people are happy about because it's raising property values. That is one of the benefits of big box stores moving in, but there isn't a ton of home ownership in areas like Dudley.

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Since they were white "Irish" neighborhoods, but because more white business owners moved in, they weren't gentrified? I don't see how this makes sense - gentrification isn't inherently tied to the race of anyone.

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Gentrification does refer to race in the way that people (who complain about it) use it. May not be the official definition, but still refers to race in popular culture.

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Gentrification was a white on white crime before black and Hispanic neighborhoods came into the crosshairs. Race has nothing to do with it.

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If you read my comment, you'd have noticed I said there was a "fear of gentrification", what with more and more buildings of size being planned for Dudley Square.

As for me, I was one of the only people at a recent meeting about a Target going into the now former Staples in Roslindale that's happy about it.

I guess I want my local businesses, and my bulk toilet paper, too.

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Wait. Just who are the gentry?

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White folks who've never set foot in Dudley Square, thanks so much for your above insight - very useful. Your expert opinions matter a lot!

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