URBANA, IL (Chambana Today) – The Champaign County African American Heritage Trail is teaming up with the Experience Champaign-Urbana Foundation to unveil a new sign celebrating Black-owned businesses.
This sign is the 22nd sign on the trail and celebrates local Black-owned businesses that shaped Urbana such as one of the earliest examples, General Cass Lee who owned a barbershop in 1887 on 127 Main Street. The unveiling will be in downtown Urbana at 120. W Main St. on Tuesday, October 22 at 1:30 p.m. Another notable Black-owned business is Shelton Laundry, which started as a home business in 1934 and eventually grew into a full-on brick and mortar business.
“A common theme among the Trail is entrepreneurship and success across business, education, and community sectors,” says Jayne DeLuce, President & CEO of the Experience Champaign-Urbana Foundation. “These businesses paved the way for future success and business owners we patronize today in our community.”
The business had a whopping 75 employees with all different types of cultures and backgrounds. Shelton Laundry lasted over 50 years, serving University of Illinois fraternities, sororities, the Chanute Air Force Base, and the U.S. Army’s Fort Benjamin Harrison before closing in 1986. The sign marks the history and celebration of Black-owned businesses in Urbana and is generously sponsored by Busey Bank.