TrueStar Staff 
In honor of day one of Black Black History Month, True Star has you covered with four of the hottest Black owned businesses to support. Some are Chicago based, others are online, but all are below to meet all your shopping needs!
Beautifully Warm is a Black family owned business that makes fashionable outerwear to both protect your natural hairstyles and keep you warm! Various hats, caps and beanies protect curly hair textures and are made carefully with layers to protect you from the cold, giving you the best of both worlds.
Essence Smith and Chelsey Carter put their heads together to create a line called Black Women Are Essential, and we’re obsessed with it. High quality sweatpants, crewnecks and totes all displaying the slogan are on their website. Each item sells out pretty quickly after restocking, so go on and get yours now! These purchases would make fire Valentine’s Day or Black History Month gifts for the Black women in your life.
Located here in Chicago, Semicolon Bookstore is the perfect place for your next new read. If your resolution for 2021 is to read more fiction, non-fiction, biographies or poems, you can find them all at Semicolon. The best part–every month CPS students can take home any book they’d like for free during the #ClearTheShelves special promoting student literacy! Their address is 515 North Halsted Street, or you can visit their website here. Semicolon also accepts donations for books you’re ready to pass along.
If your goal for 2021 is to spruce up your space and add some plant friends to your life (instead of human ones we can’t meet up with right now), check out PlantSalon! Based in Chicago, this nursery does postal shipping as well as local pickups. All plants are reasonably priced and easy to care for. Additional lines of beauty and lifestyle products are available, such as sustainable microfiber cotton pads, lip balms and face masks!
Another local spot for your next new brew is Atmos Coffee Shop. Owned by a Black and Latino couple, this cafe is the place to be for custom brews and classics. Closed only on Mondays, we love the welcoming atmosphere and aesthetics of the space! You can find them on Insta at @atmoscoffeeshop, their website here, or on 2415 W North Ave. Psssst. My favorite is the peppermint matcha latte!
Leah Ollie, senior at Whitney Young Magnet High School
@leahgraceollie on Instagram
