Black-Owned Businesses You Can Support Right Now and Forever
Amid the heinous death of George Floyd that took place last Monday, protests raged nationwide against racial injustice and police brutality. Floyd is one of the many black citizens who has been killed by the hands of the criminal justice system, showing the long history of the ongoing systematic racism that persists in America. There has been a massive amount of support to various organizations in the name of the Black Lives Matter movement, including The Minnesota Freedom Fund, the George Floyd Memorial Fund, Reclaim The Block, and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, to name a few. As of today, Instagram has been flooded with black squares captioned “#blackouttuesday” to pause posting as usual and use this time to stand in solidarity with the black community.
Although the symbolism and meaning behind these posts speaks for itself, we must go beyond that and show our support in other ways besides an Instagram post. Take this time to educate yourself, read the stories, watch the videos, repost black content, and use your own platform to amplify black voices that need to be heard. If you are unable to join the frontline protests, another way to show your support as an ally is to shop from black-owned businesses, but not just today—every day. Black business owners were already detrimentally affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Washington Post reported that African American businesses have already plummeted more than 40%.
Here is a list I rounded up of 25 black-owned businesses where you can spend your money. Shop if you can, and if not, bookmark it for another time. Just know every purchase goes a long way.
Ashya
Hanahana Beauty
Hanifa
Golde
Telfar
Lauren Napier Beauty
Base Butter
Pyer Moss
Ama Nwoke
Christopher John Rogers
Cushnie
Fenty
Lemlem
LaQuan Smith
Mowalola
AAKS
Mint Swim
The Lip Bar
Beauty Bakerie
Brother Vellies
The Folklore
Victor Glemaud
Jade Swim
Wales Bonner
Fe Noel
The time is now—utilize your buying power as a consumer, show your support as an ally, and most importantly, do not stay silent. Black lives matter.