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Howard grads opening hotels aimed at Black travelers

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Black Hotel (265235)
Black Hotel

Two entrepreneurs who are Howard University grads have opened a hotel in New Orleans aimed at Black travelers. That means the rooms are stocked with items for Black people, including Shea Moisturizer and other amenities that cater to people of color. The Moor Hotel is the brainchild of Damon Lawrence and Marcus Carey. It was created, according to Essence, to celebrate Black culture and history. Although the two both went to Howard, they didn’t meet until they crossed paths in Oakland, California at a party. After meeting the next day for coffee, the two formed a partnership. The hotel in New Orleans is the first of a series of hotels to open in other cities across the U.S. over time, in essence creating their own hotel chain empire. “One of our slogans that caught on is ‘There’s room for you.’ We’ve seen so many of these things happen – the shootings, the AirnB while Black, all these events that have happened culturally makes it seem like there is not room for us. We literally wanted to make room for people and give people a safe space all the way down to the products we put in the rooms. There’s a lot of Shea Moisturizer and Black soap products. We felt it was needed. We didn’t see it and we wanted to create it.” The next hotel called “The Town” is set to open in Oakland in 2019. Other cities on the duo’s wish list include Miami, Detroit, Brooklyn, Washington, D.C. and Inglewood, California, with hopes of eventually expanding into the Caribbean.

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