Why You Should Support Black-Owned Businesses
Updated: Dec 31, 2020
So, you wanna make a difference? Whether you’ve always had an interest in equity, diversity and inclusion or your interest was triggered by the racial reckoning that took place earlier this year, sometimes the natural feeling in the wake of realising all the work that needs to be done is helplessness. An army of one doesn’t feel that mighty and looking at it that way can feel discouraging. However, with Christmas just around the corner, you have a great opportunity to help the Black community in a tangible way.
We’re talking about buying Black.
When we talk about the injustices faced by the Black community, we must not forget about economic inequality faced by Black-owned businesses. The oppressive systems that Black businesses are forced to operate in can make it that much harder for them to succeed; and if they do succeed, you can almost always count on the ‘Karens’ to do their thing 🥴. Just this year alone, we saw some white women try to derail the success of The Honey Pot, a Black woman-owned company selling feminine hygiene products. What caused the backlash you may ask? Well, Beatrice Dixon, founder of The Honey Pot, was featured in a Target ad where she simply said “[t]he reason why it’s so important for Honey Pot to do well is so the next Black girl that comes up with a great idea, she can have a better opportunity. That means a lot to me”.
Two weeks ago, UK supermarket, Sainsbury’s, launched a series of Christmas ads. First up was an ad featuring a Black family celebrating Christmas. While many celebrated the representation, there was a loud faction that was high-key offended to see Black people happy and celebrating Christmas 😑. To quote journalist, Funmi Olutoya: “I see no outrage when black people are overwhelmingly overrepresented in the UK justice system. Are we only deemed worthy of being on Crimewatch?” While Sainsbury’s is not Black-owned, the backlash they faced in featuring Black people shows just how far we have to go on this journey of achieving equity, diversity and inclusion. And honestly, just straight up respect.
2020 has been a tough year in more ways than we can count and one of the many struggles has been the economic challenges that business owners are facing. Buying Black is one way where, even as an army of one, you can make a difference. Check out our Instagram post where we have compiled a neat list for you to take advantage of.
So, you wanna make a difference? Put your money where your mouth is and: 🗣 buy Black!