Love + Grit

Charisse McGill & Tina Dixon Spence

This episode’s guests are two women inspired by their children to build thriving Philadelphia businesses. Charisse McGill combined her farmers market expertise and inspiration from her daughter to launch Lokal Artisan Foods. As the first Black woman to vend at Spruce Street Harbor Park and the first Black woman in Pennsylvania with her own craft beer, she’s just getting started. When Tina Dixon Spence could not find a baby store that matched her son’s burgeoning style, she created Buddha Babe, a luxury design studio focusing on accessories for babies, toddlers and the home (and kids parties). She fearlessly launched her Mt. Airy brick-and-mortar amidst a pandemic and aims to make the shop a staple in neighborhoods across the city.

Aidan M. Un and Raishad M. Hardnett & Nasya Jenkins

The BlackStar Film Festival, also known as “Black Sundance,” is the nation’s premier fest for Black, Brown and Indigenous filmmakers. And it’s centered in Philly! On this episode of Love + Grit, hear from local directors screening their work at the 2021 festival. West Philly neighbors and respected filmmakers Raishad M. Hardnett and Aidan M. Un teamed up to produce a short film about Harriett’s Bookshop in Fishtown for the 10th annual festival’s “Stories in Place” series about small businesses. And Nasya Jenkins discusses her short documentary From Digital Divide to Digital Equity about Philly activists leading the fight for digital equity in education.