ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Juneteenth commemorates when the last enslaved African Americans learned they were free on June 19, 1865, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation.

Two Bay area business owners are marking the event with a Black Business Expo.

Brandi Gergle, one of the event founders, is the owner of B. Blaze Hair Boutique.

“So the more opportunities we create for exposure, the more we hope that it grows businesses in our community,” she said.

Shakita Nash, owner of Fly Guyz, a clothing store for boys and men, is returning for the second annual event.

“I started Fly Guyz in 2018. I was pretty much online and out my house pretty much,” Nash said.

The expo was one of the catalysts for her businesses.

“And I had so many people come to the booth," she said. "I was giving out business cards, so my name definitely got out there. After that, I started at the store. So that was it for me."

And her business opened up another opportunity for a shared space – she also houses a barber.

The expo's co-creator is Three Generations food truck owner and chef Melissa Gardner. Gergle hopes the new location of the festival, with 22 South Food Hall serving as the hub, will pay homage to the African American businesses that flourished there in the past.