A Guide To Black-Owned Houston

Housed in an 80-year-old brick home a few blocks from Emancipation Park, this collection of African art is curated by owner Lloyd Gite, a veteran news and entertainment reporter whose love for art collecting was sparked by his travels across five continents. Inside the intimate space, you’ll find traditional and contemporary paintings, sculptures, tribal masks, textiles, jewelry, and other handmade pieces sourced from sub-Saharan Africa. In addition to browsing the artwork, visitors can purchase pieces and have them custom-framed by the team at the gallery. Keep an eye out for photos around the gallery showing Gite sitting for interviews with his many iconic subjects over the years, from Rosa Parks and Muhammad Ali to Viola Davis and Denzel Washington.

Held the first Friday and second Saturday of every month, BLCK Market provides a space for Black vendors and entrepreneurs to sell and connect with customers (in fact, the event bills itself as the largest monthly gathering of black-owned businesses and entrepreneurs in the U.S.). From housewares and toiletries to clothing, jewelry and food trucks, you can browse and sample wares from hundreds of Black artisans and business owners at the open-air market at GreenStreet, a shopping pavilion in Houston’s Central Business District. BLCK Market also opened a brick-and-mortar store in Pearland (about 30 minutes south of downtown Houston) in 2021, where you can buy goods from select local vendors seven days a week.

Established in 1993, this initiative transformed 39 abandoned shotgun houses across a five-block radius in Houston’s Third Ward into vibrant spaces for art displays, artist residencies, and social programs.  During the biannual Artist Rounds event, visiting artists tackle a specific topic or theme through installations created on the exteriors of the homes. Project Row Houses also organizes workshops, block parties, and other community events throughout the year.