Reclaiming the Past: SOUL Collective and Jaxon Station Royal Reclamation Grand Opening

By Maddie Steele

On July 16, 2022, Jaxon Station Royal Reclamation Celebration and Picnic will commence the official launch of SOUL Collective and the opening of Jaxon Station. This event will take place from 8:30am-8:30pm, with an entire day of events, from a parade march from the fair grounds to the train station, to a Hub City Mass Choir performance, to a picnic at the end of the day. The day will also include various speakers and a market with a variety of Black business owners. 

“I hope this will be something we can do annually as a reclaiming of the space and the time because there was one point in time where we couldn’t come in here,” said Trunetta Atwater, founder of SOUL. “I want to focus on the excellence we exude and I don’t want to be ashamed of it.”

SOUL Collective stands for success, opportunity, unity, and leadership, and it seeks to elevate the arts, culture, knowledge, and wellness of Black businesses through commerce, education and social education.

As Trunetta moved to Jackson at the height of 2020 when the world was in a state of chaos, she wanted to be a part of changing the mindsets of people. She began to center her focus on helping black entrepreneurs have the resources they didn’t feel like they had access to. One way she did this in the beginning was by having Headshot Fridays, where she brought a black business owner into her studio to give them professional images to use and share. She wanted to visually show people that we have all the resources we need and we have the ability to create the environment we need in our communities. 

“I realized what we need is a safe space where [Black business owners] can be vulnerable with their needs,” said Trunetta. “It’s hard to ask. It’s hard to ask for help.”

She was invited to the Jackson Equity Project and sat in on meetings with the business development committee. It was there that she pitched this idea of SOUL Collective and began to see her vision come to life by simply having networking events at theCO. 

“Ultimately, black people need a safe space to commune and be connected to resources, and what I’ve learned is that unity comes, but we have to take the steps to make the connections, tear down the walls of trust, apply ourselves, and then unity happens organically,” said Trunetta. 

When SOUL Collective opened the Incubator application, they had 25 applications and had to narrow it down to 6 total businesses. While a business is in the SOUL Collective Incubator, they go through CO.STARTERS at theCO for 9 weeks, and follow that with a 4 week brand camp, along with continued mentorship after the program is finished. 

The grand opening on July 16th is to officially open this physical space that has been a historic spot in Jackson since 1907. Trunetta chose this name “Jaxon Station” based on some shorthand writing she found on a ticket shortly after she moved in. The spelling of “Jaxon” happens to also be the same as Trunetta's son, which makes the name even more meaningful to her personally. The name “Royal Reclamation” not only is a nod to the same of Royal Street where the building is located, but it also ties to the history of Black people. The history of the events Black people have overcome requires a royalty to be resilient. They are reclaiming their time. 

“People are still coming here for something and so I’m excited to create a space that’s welcoming to everyone,” said Trunetta. “It’s not just for Black people, I want people to know that, it is for everybody. But it is a space centered around black culture because I want people who are not Black to understand us and not be afraid to do that. So it’s a safe space to teach our culture to other people.”

You can visit https://www.soulcollectivetn.com/events to buy tickets and get more information about the event.