Soaps Honor Newhallville At Kids’ Black Wall Street

Bassett Street smells like lemongrass and poppy seeds to 11-year-old Kauren, now that her favorite sweet-citrusy soap is up for sale in honor of the street where she goes to school.

Kauren joined classmates at the Harris & Tucker afterschool program at the Stetson Library at 197 Dixwell Ave. on Wednesday afternoon to sell an array of ten soaps named after Newhallville streets.

She was one of a dozen kids making sales pitches at a buzzing Black Wall Street for Kids event, organized by Harris & Tucker principal Kim Harris.

The soaps are part of a new Street Soap line sold by the Harris & Tucker community and made by the Tierra Soap Co., a local Black-owned soap business known for its natural ingredients, handmade products, sustainable mission, and artistic presentation. Harris is planning to grow some of the ingredients for the soaps, such as jasmine and sage, in the Harris & Tucker garden.

Each soap — so far there are 10 in all, though Harris hopes to add more — is named after a different street in Newhallville, from Gem Street (a soap made from honey and oats) to Goodrich (which features charcoal). 

The goal, Harris said, is partly to teach kids entrepreneurial skills and to instill pride in the neighborhood in which many of them live and go to school. 

“We wanted to do something to make our culture pop,” she said.

As they advertised their soaps to prospective buyers, the kids had the chance to talk about their favorite parts of the neighborhood.

“Bassett Street — that’s my school, it’s named after my school,” said Kauren, who attends Lincoln Bassett elementary school. Her favorite part of the street, she said, is the playground behind the school. 

She extracted a Bassett Street soap bar, with a ​“lemongrass poppy” scent, from one of the bins. The sweet and tart aroma was palpable from three feet away.

“There’s so many soaps to choose from,” said 11-year-old Avery. ​“They all mean different things.” 

Her favorite soap is the Dixwell Avenue ​“Black Raspberry” soap, she said.

The Harris & Tucker kids also sold an array of hand-beaded bracelets, ranging from charm cuffs to stretchy alphabet bands, and homemade decorations in the style of ​“dream catchers.” These products had been created by the kids themselves and generally ranged from $1 to $5. The funds will go toward field trip and scholarship opportunities, according to Harris.

After an hour and a half of sales, a group of Harris & Tucker kids gathered to tally the money they’d earned as a group.

They counted in unison: ​“77… 78… 79…” and landed at a total of $86.

“Eighty-six! I thought we had 67!” one kid exclaimed.

“That’s crazy,” affirmed Avery. ​“We got $86 today.”

Other kid vendors at the event ranged from budding food entrepreneurs to published authors.

Twelve-year-old Santana Brightly, the founder of San’s Cocoa, ladled homemade vegan hot chocolate into paper cups for $3 to $6 depending on the portion size.

Santana had developed the recipe herself, having experimented with cocoa powder and almond milk in her own kitchen at around 7 or 8 years old. 

She first started selling her hot chocolate in her driveway. ​“I asked the neighborhood to buy some,” she said. Wednesday’s Black Wall Street for Kids marked her third time tabling at an event.

She was joined by her 10-year-old sister Neváe. 

“I’m not sure of my role yet” in the business, Neváe said hesitantly.

“Assistant manager!” Santana interjected. ​“No — manager!”

One table over, 10-year-old Kaden was selling two original, untitled paintings inspired by everyday sights in the natural world — a steal for $6 each.

“When you do art, it’s a relaxing way to get stress out. Any emotions, really,” Kaden said.

Five-year-old Skye Brown set up a table with her mom, Alexis Brown, and grandmother, Veronica Marion selling copies of a book she and her grandma had produced about her experiences with sickle cell disease.

The book, ​“S is For Skye, Not Sickle Cell,” explains numerous activities that Skye is capable of doing, sometimes with health-related accommodations, with the help of family photos and Faith Satterfield’s vibrant illustrations.

“S is for Skating!” one page elaborates. ​“I love to roller skate. I always wear my knee pads and drink plenty of water. If you have sickle cell, you can skate too!”

The book also offers advice on ​“living well with sickle cell,” including eating ​“plenty of calcium-rich foods,” finding a ​“culturally-informed doctor that you trust,” and making sure to ​“dream the impossible dreams.”

“The doctor’s appointments could be a little overwhelming with all the things she can’t do,” recalled Marion. ​“We wanted to focus on all the things she can do.”

Finally, a family-run non-profit called Our Kids Swim Too set up a detailed presentation on how Black kids and adults alike are more likely to drown or lack swimming skills than their peers.

The non-profit hosts free community swim lessons, first aid classes, and more in conjunction with LEAP swim coaches. 

It was founded by Lisa Hardy-Gardner alongside her kids. She said they started the organization after her youngest daughter Patricia nearly drowned in a hotel swimming pool when she was five years old. Her twin older sisters, Jaylin and Mikayla, rescued her and saved her life.

Patricia is now 11, and gave an animated presentation about how she learned how to swim despite her fear through swimming classes at the YMCA and LEAP. ​“I learned how to swim, jump, and dive,” she said. ​“It was scary.” 

The group’s next event is on June 15 at LEAP’s 31 Jefferson St. headquarters.

Over the course of the afternoon, kids shared an array of advice for other young entrepreneurs.

“I think you should just be yourself, be honest, and make sure you engage with your customers,” said Santana. Don’t just answer questions with ​“mm-hmms” she advised.

Nine-year-old Memori recommended that other young business people test out their products for functionality. 

“When you make a bracelet, you have to make sure it fits your whole wrist,” she said.