Quad Cities African American Resource Directory launches

A new digital resource aimed at connecting and empowering the Black community in the Quad Cities launched in May, offering a centralized hub for local businesses, services and community information. Elois Wilson saw a need in the community for a hub where Black people could communicate with one another. 

The Quad Cities African American Resource Directory is a new website that will give the Black community access to the Black-owned businesses, resources surrounding education, economics, youth development, legal aid and community services and a community calendar. 

This is not Wilson’s first directory. Wilson made her first directory book in 2004 and another in 2022. The natural progression was to create a website. Creating a website presented its own benefits and struggles. The major benefit is the ability to change and add things as they arise. When it came to finding a web developer, Wilson had a bit more difficulty. Then, trying to get her vision from her mind to the page was difficult as well. Eventually, they made the website just as she had pictured, and Wilson is very proud of it. 

Of all of the featured in the Directory, Wilson says the Black Business Directory is the most important. Right now, there are hundreds of Black businesses, and a database lets you search for the ones you might need. Local authors are also featured on the website. Wilson believes it is important to showcase the talent in the Black community. The community calendar is a space that will list black events in the community so everyone is on the same page. “There’s not enough communication between the cliques,” Wilson says. “If you’re in the church clique, you’re not in the rap clique.”

When it came to the five resource categories, education, economics, youth development, legal aid and community services, Wilson wanted a centralized place to help Black people find what they need to make their lives a little easier. “We want people to know everyone can be a social worker or whatever they want to do,” Wilson said. “We are all our brother’s keeper, so we need to know what’s available in the community.”

The next steps for the Resource Directory are to expand its service area by 100 miles to include more Black businesses in cities like Cedar Rapids and Peoria. As for cities like Ames or Des Moines, Wilson hopes that someone else will take on that challenge and make one for those towns. She would be glad to help.

Wilson’s work to uplift the community will extend beyond the directory. She is currently developing a “Black Quest” platform, an interactive educational and cultural tourism app designed to highlight Black history in local communities, stories and landmarks that often go unnoticed. “You can’t take away our pride,” Wilson said, describing the app as a way to counter what she sees as the erasure of Black history in America. The platform aims to help users discover the presence and impact of Black communities in places they may not have previously recognized. 

Wilson said she is proud of how far the project has come and remains committed to its mission. She hopes the platform will serve as a lasting resource that strengthens connections and highlights the impact of the Black community across the Quad Cities.

This story appears in the May edition of the Black Iowa Newspaper. Statewide distribution begins on May 22.