Black Business History

Pushing the culture forward by learning about the foundation of Black Owned business supporting our communities

We celebrate Georgia Gilmore & The Club From Nowhere, whose food sales supported the Montgomery Bus Boycotts and fed hungry Freedom Fighters.

Georgia Gilmore was a baker, specializing in peach pies. She went from barbershop to beauty salon to church supper, selling her baked goods along the way. She was instrumental in forming The Club From Nowhere, a “secret” group of business owners selling dinner plates and lunches to help purchase gas, maintain cars for the carpools, and help offset those who lost their jobs. 

Black owned restaurants stayed open past regular hours to feed weary demonstrators and those being released from the jailhouse for disturbing the peace. These trailblazing business owners were instrumental in ensuring that the Montgomery Bus Boycotts were successful in ending segregation and Jim Crow laws across the country.