CINCINNATI — A new app that puts the focus on the Black experience - and Black businesses - around Cincinnati, released just in time for one of the biggest tourism weekends of the year in the city.
Cincy Black Travel Guide is a free download and was built locally to connect users to the city's Black culture and allow users to explore some history, too.
"This is the best city to be in in July," said founder Azizah Nubia.
This week's Black Tech Week, Cincinnati Music Festival, Cincy Soul, and Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame opening prompted the release of the app Nubia has been dreaming of since she went to her first CMF event several years ago.
"I just fell in love and every year I went, I wondered how I can be a part of all this amazing stuff and show up as myself," Nubia said.
She runs AZ Media Designs and decided to combine her passion for media, technology, and the energy of this weekend of events into a helpful resource for the tens of thousands of out-of-town visitors who were always asking her for suggestions.
"They were (asking), 'Where do we go for here? Where do we go for this?" she said. "And I thought, maybe we should create something - and it just took off."
The Cincy Black Travel Guide app highlights events around town - not just this weekend. It also features a Black business directory, broken down by category. The app can show you Google Maps directions and best places to park.
The app also includes magazine-style content - videos, podcasts, interviews with local government and business leaders.
"Everything is there for tourists, residents," said Nubia. "Everybody to know about what's happening in Cincinnati."
Nubia said she was inspired by the Green Book of the 20th century - a road trip resource for Black travelers, highlighting what businesses were safe and accepting and Black-owned.
"I'm like, wow they haven't had anything like this since the early 1900s?" she said. "Let's see about this."
Nubia said the guide's real secret weapon is a team of interns helping fill it out, part of a Hamilton County internship program. Some of the hardworking youths are even approved to work through the year with her company.
"We may have the next Oprah Winfrey or Tyler Perry working in our city, through us," she said.
The app is live now, with fresh magazine content and more businesses - including deals and discounts - being added.
Nubia said she's also getting calls to build similar apps for cities like Dayton, Columbus, and Atlanta, so she has plans to expand.
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