(Editorial)
By Sade Scales - Adair
While peaceful protestors marched the streets all over, social media started to push people towards giving money directly to Black-owned businesses. Many social media influencers of color were distributing long lists of different business people could support. From food to fashion it seemed like some lists were miles long.
The whole purpose of curating these lists was to be shared around and to show Black people that you support them. Money equals support and, helping that business move forward is what this whole movement is about. When it comes to supporting Black-owned businesses, it’s important to recognize that you’re helping open up more job opportunities for people of color. This helps marginalized communities to get their foot in the door of entrepreneurial opportunities.
Many Black businesses are inspired by their own rich cultures itself like Black-owned clothing brands, hair care, makeup, and restaurants. Some might not know but a lot of these Black-owned businesses are created to give back to their community and take care of some of their needs. These kinds of business ventures help uplift the Black community, giving them a sense of pride and celebrate Black culture. When small businesses flourish, so do the communities.
One main obstacle many Black businesses face is a harsh amount of critiques and disapprovals from other entrepreneurs. This is most likely stemmed from racism and stigmas against Black people and Black made products. There are tons of Black businesses that provide top-notch products to the buyer, which tears down the stigma that Black made products are low quality or not as good as products made from other companies. Buying Black can show their top competitors and other people that Black-owned businesses are producing quality products.
As mentioned earlier, Black made products are top of the line. But you might not know that they fund their businesses, which is due to the lack of money given to the Black community. You can trace the origins of the generational wealth gap to the Jim Crow era, where Black people were discriminated against everywhere including the workplace. This made it hard for Black people to get a taste of the “ American dream” and provide generational wealth.
The reason why many Black businesses are booming is that they want to end the generational suffering and lack of representation in the world. It is a fact that Black people are everywhere. So why is it so hard for a Black little girl to see someone like her represented? The amount of Black representation a few years ago was little to none, but now you’re seeing Black people being represented in many forms. Not only should this be continued in the media it should be encouraged to continue in business.
There should be more Black people as the face of large companies so younger people can see that the business world isn’t completely whitewashed. Supporting Black-owned businesses can open up job opportunities, close the racial wealth gap, strengthen the local communities, celebrate Black culture, hold other companies accountable, and provide visibility and representation. If Black-owned businesses are supported and encouraged then the unemployment rate in the Black community would not be so high.
Do your part and support your local Black businesses.