They’re a fraction of the area’s Black population. BLCK Market founder J.O. Malone would like to help change that. While African Americans make up roughly 17% of the population in the Houston metropolitan area, a LendingTree analysis of 2022 census data finds just 3.9% of businesses here are Black-owned. Filmmaker and entrepreneur J.O. Malone wants to help change that. He’s taking some lessons learned from his establishment of the National Black Film Festival, and applying them to an effort to help entrepreneurs. It’s called the BLCK (“Black”) Market, and its designed to help existing and developing Black-owned businesses in the Houston area to thrive.