Black + Forth

Shopping mall in Washington, DC

Address

2201 Channing St NE, Washington, DC, 20018

Website

blackandforth.org

About Black + Forth

Black + Forth is Washington, DC's first Black-owned strip mall, created to offer community education and affordable commercial space for Black business owners. Located at 2201 Channing Street NE, it operates under Dream Incubator, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded by Angel Gregorio, one of DC's most recognized next-generation Black female entrepreneurs and the founder of The Spice Suite. Black + Forth's guiding philosophy is captured in its tagline: if 'each one, teach one' was a business model. The organization is explicit about removing barriers rather than adding them - it does not require applications or charge fees, and it does not impose a success threshold before offering support. Instead, it commits to freely and boldly educating the community. In practice, that means free monthly business courses through the Community Business School, affordable commercial space for Black entrepreneurs looking to launch or grow a storefront, and a bi-weekly farmers market featuring Black vendors. The organization also offers scholarships and partnerships aimed at aspiring entrepreneurs who might otherwise lack access to capital, space, or mentorship. Black + Forth exists because its founder experienced firsthand the barriers - both large and small - that Black business owners face, from regulations laced with historical bias to gatekeepers controlling access to resources. Rather than simply succeeding despite those obstacles, Gregorio built an institution designed to dismantle them for others, turning her own success into a structured, ongoing system of support for the next generation of Black business owners in DC.

Black + Forth grew directly out of founder Angel Gregorio's experience running The Spice Suite, her spice boutique in Takoma Park. As her business succeeded, Gregorio began offering free pop-up shop space to other entrepreneurs who needed a foothold but lacked access to affordable commercial real estate. That informal practice of opening doors for others evolved into a much larger vision: a permanent space dedicated entirely to Black entrepreneurship. Gregorio, recognized as one of DC's most prominent next-generation Black female entrepreneurs, had personally encountered barriers - regulatory, financial, and structural - that made it harder for Black business owners to get started or grow. Rather than treating her own success as the end of the story, she channeled it into Dream Incubator, Inc., a nonprofit built to remove those same barriers for others. Black + Forth became the flagship result: the city's first Black-owned strip mall, combining affordable space, free business education, and a recurring farmers market for Black vendors under one roof.

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