Dubuque Black-Owned Businesses
Dubuque Black-Owned Businesses is a photography project by Jacob Fiscus focused on highlighting black owned businesses and sharing their story. The series began in mid-2020 and is still in the process of being created. If you are, or know of, a black owned business in the area that would like to be part of the project, give Jacob a call. 712-210-6715.
Sebastian “Dusty” Rogers owner and operator of Dusty Rogers Baseball/Softball Academy in Dubuque, Iowa.
Dusty is a former first-round pick for the Cincinnati Reds and has been a long-time coach in the Dubuque area. The DRBSA is located at the Dubuque Sports Complex.
What did it mean to you when you started Dusty Rogers Baseball/Softball Academy?
“It meant a lot because my son played here, and I've also coached a lot of kids from the boys and girls club and the lower income communities. I’ve always tried to help give back because I grew up in a boys and girls club as well. My friend and I took over that club many many years ago. (It was) called the Astros, and I coached out here for five-six years as well. So, when I came down here I liked what was happening with the kids and the youth. I didn’t have this when I was a child. We just played in the parking lot on concrete. I thought how unique and how cool to give back and do something to help the kids out. Plus, I’m around the sport I love. I grew up loving it my whole life. So it gave me a great opportunity to get involved with the community. I’ve always been drawn in by the lure of this complex and always looked at and thought one day it would be cool to own something similar to this. So the opportunity came and I wasn’t going to let it pass, so I jumped on it. The lure of the lights, the smell of the grass, the fields. ... It’s baseball, man. What more can you ask for? I’m pretty excited about it.”
With everything going on in the world right now, and awareness and education it is bringing for civil rights, tell me the importance of not only supporting the Black community, but supporting Black businesses too?
“I think it’s important with all the Black Lives Matter and all the stuff that’s going on, to realize that first and foremost, we have to give back and really be thankful for those people who came before us that laid the foundation for us. It’s important for me to reflect and be very grateful for what those people that laid the groundwork -- from MLK and our other leaders from the past. I’m just excited. I think this is a great opportunity for me and not just as an African American, I’m a human being. I’m just a normal guy. I hope that the younger kids, especially the underprivileged, minorities of the younger generation realize that this can happen to anyone. I’m from Chicago. I grew up around gangs and violence and all that stuff. You get out of life what you want and what you choose and you know what? If you take the right path and stay on the straight and narrow, good things will happen for you. I worked for it. I worked hard. I always felt like even when I was playing baseball that I was the best player coming out of Chicago when I got drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the first round, but that’s the stuff kids dream of. I grew dreaming of that kind of stuff and believing I can do it. The best advice I can give any kid is the same old cliche, if you work hard enough and want it bad enough, you can make it happen. You can truly make it happen. I’m living proof right? You can accomplish whatever goals you want and get whatever you want out of life. You just have to work for it. Nothing is handed to you. I learned that from my mom and my dad.
Shamika Rainer owner and hairstylist of Luxurious Hair Spa in Dubuque, Iowa.
Tell me a little bit about your business and its history.
“ I've been in Dubuque for 15 years. I moved here from Chicago. I came to Dubuque to go to school at the University of Dubuque for psychology. That didn’t work out. I kind of hated it, so I started working as a CNA, and then I discovered that I do love hair, and I didn't think this could be a profession you know? I didn't think it was a real job. I've only seen it as a hustle (but) never like a business where people run and operate it (well enough) for you to be considered a professional. I went to hair school, but there was nowhere for me to work because no one really does black hair, and I know our people are culturally different, so I didn’t feel that there would be a place even if I did go somewhere that would accept our culture. That led me to open up my own hair salon fresh out of hair school. I didn’t have any freaking clients. Nobody even really knew that I knew how to do hair, but I just did it. I needed to be the change that I wanted to see. If I was looking for a hair salon to go to when I first moved here, how many other people needed one, too? I am the first black-owned hair salon owner in Dubuque, Iowa. I've been doing it for eight years. This is my third location so hopefully this third place is a charm.”
What did it mean to you when you were able get your business started and make it your own?
“It means the world. I'm extremely proud of myself because many people talk about the things that they want to do, but a lot of people never do them. I'm actually proud of myself that I actually went and did it. It was super hard and it was super scary, but it worked out, and I could not have made a better decision. I'm so glad that I stepped out and did this, and it’s led to me having other businesses, too.”
What’s your message to the world about everything that is happening regarding racial tensions and civil rights?
“I ask that we have compassion for each other and be a little more understanding to everyone’s circumstances and situations because none of us are exempt from life and life is happening to each one of us, and some of it we are not in control over. It is better to be understanding. Through understanding, you actually learn more instead of just going off of assumptions and opinions. Not everyone has grown up culturally like other people. We all have things that make us different. Only through these tough conversations and talking to people will we be able to move past things and gain understanding with each other. Some of it is just ignorance. Anybody can be dark if they stay in the sun longer, you know? It’s just skin color. I think that's pretty ignorant to be mad about skin color. TV is playing a part in it -- social media -- all of these things play a part in the way we depict other people without even knowing them first, and that’s not good either. Going out your way to actually get to know people is the only way we will get past this.”