You’ve probably seen this phrase floating around a lot lately: It is not enough to be not racist, we must be anti-racist.
It's a term that has been made most prominent by Ibram X. Kendi, an author and the founding director of the Antiracist Research and Policy Center at American University, and there are a lot of different facets to the concept. By and large, it's about tearing down the racist ideas — and the policies that protect those ideas — that have been actively stymying the growth of Black America throughout the country's history. In Kendi's best-selling book, How to Be an Antiracist, he writes, “When racist ideas resound, denials that those ideas are racist typically follow.”
Part of tearing down those impeding policies, specifically in an economic sense, is actually putting your money where your mouth is. That means instead of getting all of your goods through Amazon and other big-name retailers, you should try to spend your money at Black-owned businesses — preferably local ones.
Here’s why.
The importance of supporting Black-owned businesses
Tayo and Cynthia Gordy Giwa are the husband-and-wife team behind Black-Owned Brooklyn, a digital publication that is dedicated to spotlighting the many Black-owned businesses within the NYC borough as a form of hyperlocal service journalism. In an email interview with Mashable, the two discussed the importance of shopping at Black-owned businesses, and how it is a powerful form of allyship.
“Supporting Black businesses also means supporting Black communities, as they are usually more than just places that offer goods and services,” Tayo said. “They are community spaces for meeting and connection. They are cultural hubs and platforms for local artists. They provide programs and resources that the community needs. Especially given these multifunctional roles, strengthening Black businesses helps strengthen our communities.”
"This is a time to be intentional about strengthening Black businesses and other institutions, and it’s a simple thing anyone can do.” -Tayo Giwa
The reality is that Black Americans historically have not been afforded the same opportunities as white people, especially when it comes to economic success and career opportunities. According to a report from Business Insider in February of 2020, only four of the current Fortune 500 CEOs at that time were Black. None of those four were Black women, either, who face an even larger set of challenges in the workplace than their white male counterparts. For example, in 2018 it was reported that Black women earned only 61 cents for every dollar earned by white men, amounting to $23,653 less in total earnings over the year.
Shami Oshun is a young Black fashion designer from California who has been making waves on the internet with her eye-catching designs and unique implementation of 3D printing in her work. When we spoke to her over the phone, Oshun shared that the unique challenge of trying to get a loan while being Black is another way that Black people are gatekept from success.
"I've been struggling to get actual money support from banks and things like that. It's known that we get denied way more than anyone else for business ventures."
White people are systematically given opportunities to hold more jobs and economic capital in general, as well as the ability to enjoy generational wealth where many Black Americans don’t get to. A 2016 Survey of Consumer Finances from the Federal Reserve showed that Black families have only 10 cents for every dollar held by typical white families, and one 2017 study concluded that (of the sample size that participated) 56 percent of Black Americans experienced discrimination at least once when applying to a job, and 57 percent experienced discrimination when it came to being paid equally or being considered for a promotion.
There’s also the ongoing issue of the gentrification of Black neighborhoods, which often includes pushing out Black residents, businesses, and culture. A 2019 study from the National Community Reinvestment Coalition found that from 2000 to 2013, at least 135,000 Black and Hispanic residents were affected by gentrification negatively, including displacement, in big cities and small communities across the country.
“Black-owned businesses often need more support,” Tayo Giwa said. “For example, we’re also living through a global pandemic, which has disproportionately affected small Black-owned businesses."
According to a report from the National Bureau of Economic Research, “the number of African American business owners plummeted from 1.1 million in February 2020 to 640,000 in April,” — that translates to about 41 percent of Black-owned businesses in the U.S. going under in the wake of COVID-19.
By diverting your purchasing power to more Black-owned businesses, you’re not only helping to strengthen local Black economies — it can also contribute to shrinking the racial wealth gap, foster more job creation for Black people, and help to hold larger companies accountable in regard to diverse representation. But make no mistake, this only happens if Black-owned businesses are supported on a wider scale, not just by a few people.
“Business owners frequently tell us that our write-ups have made a noticeable difference in their bottom line,” Cynthia of Black-Owned Brooklyn said. “Just last weekend, a restauranteur we recently featured told us he was on the verge of shutting down until a rush of new customers came after our story.”
Another obstacle that many independent Black business owners face is a disproportionate amount of scrutiny compared to other entrepreneurs.
“The lack of respect that people have for Black-owned businesses; it makes you not even want to label yourself as such, because you don't know how people are going to treat you,” Oshun said.
In Oshun's experience, “People don't have the same patience [for Black business owners]. People even see things as ‘overpriced’ because you're a Black business and that is really frustrating.”
The perceived value of Black-owned businesses among investors is also a hurdle that many struggle to vault. Too many don’t see merit in Black companies or Black ideas, even more so when it comes to products made by Black people for Black people. It’s viewed as a niche market, even though the Black population of America sits at almost 44 million according to the latest U.S. Census.
One 2015 study concluded that white entrepreneurs already benefit from consumer perceptions that their ventures are legitimate — their ability to perform is not really questioned in the same way as Black entrepreneurs. And in 2018, the Small Business Association's Office of Advocacy reported that Black entrepreneurs are more likely to rely on credit cards and personal savings rather than outside investors to get their businesses funded. You can see these exact issues displayed on prime time television when Shark Tank investors famously lowballed Black-owned haircare brand CurlMix, or more recently on Twitter when a white landlord evicted Black business owners after they participated in a Black Lives Matter protest.
In terms of shopping Black-owned being a form of allyship, Cynthia Gordy Giwa offers a resounding “yes.”
“A lot of our white readers think critically about the impact of their presence as gentrifiers in a changing neighborhood,” she said. “Many have told us that they’ve used our site to not only make conscious decisions about where they spend their money, but also to participate in and engage with the local culture and community. We’re proud to have created a resource that makes it easy for folks to be better neighbors and community members.”
Related Video: Want to donate to help the Black Lives Matter movement? Here's how.
How do I find Black-owned businesses to support?
It’s really not all that difficult. Shami Oshun offered a simple and direct method that we can all get behind: “I think that the struggle right now is that a lot of Black people are just tired. So yeah, we're like ‘Please just use the internet.’”
If you were expecting a more complicated answer, there really isn’t one — just hop on Google. To get you started, we compiled a list with help from Oshun that is outlined below:
Support Black Owned: This website and mobile app helps you find Black-owned businesses from all over the country.
African American Literature Book Club: This database is dedicated to the many Black-owned bookstores across America.
EatOkra: The EatOkra app is great for specifically finding Black-owned restaurants and food services.
Instagram: Useful for finding smaller, independent Black-owned shops to support. Start off by following some hashtags: #SupportBlackBusiness, #SupportBlackArt, #ShareBlackStories.
More websites, apps, and databases meant for finding Black-owned businesses:
Going forward
An important note: Make sure that you continue to support these businesses well past a time of organized protests and social media fervor. Don’t just buy one thing, congratulate yourself, and head straight back into the clutches of Jeff Bezos.
Oshun touched on this as well, noting increased support from those who never paid her much mind before.
“It’s been interesting to see the accounts that share my work because, I swear, these are people that didn't know I existed. And now, all of a sudden they know I exist and they're calling me one of their favorite Black-owned businesses. And I'm like, ‘What? I've never even seen your name before.’”
"Are you going to continue supporting in a few months? Are you going to keep denying us opportunities?” -Shami Oshun
In just the past few weeks, Oshun has seen an almost 3,000 follower jump on her Instagram account, and the number keeps growing (the count has assuredly gotten even bigger since the time of writing). She’s noticed that this has been happening to fellow Black creators as well, and hopes that this isn’t just a “moment," but rather, a shift to a more continued appreciation for Black-owned businesses.
“I've been talking to my other Black creative friends — writers, photographers, etcetera — and those people are also experiencing a spike in attention. Even people that ignored them are coming back into the picture and saying ‘Oh hey, now we want to work with you,’ and it's just like… What are we doing about that? Are you going to continue supporting in a few months? Are you going to keep denying us opportunities?”
Tayo Giwa echoes this sentiment.
“It’s important to support Black-owned businesses year-round, but the increased focus on supporting Black-owned businesses now is a meaningful form of economic protest,” Giwa says.
As a response to the systematic oppression of Black people, he says that "it is an act of collective power to steer our dollars towards local businesses that are vested in our community. This is a time to be intentional about strengthening Black businesses and other institutions, and it’s a simple thing anyone can do.”
While it's impossible to list them all — remember, that's what Google is for — here are some Black-owned businesses you can start supporting right away:
Apparel and accessories:
Beauty
Bookshops
Fitness and health
Food and beverages
Home goods
Miscellaneous
Still looking for more ideas? Offers.com (which is owned by Mashable's parent company, Ziff Davis) has plenty of suggestions for how you can put your dollars toward Black-owned businesses.
Topics Activism Social Good Racial Justice
