Five summers ago, American consumers were buying Black with intention.
That push to spend money specifically at Black-owned businesses in 2020 was driven by an especially galling series of incidents of police brutality, in which Breonna Taylor of Louisville, Kentucky and George Floyd of Minneapolis were all killed by local police officers within months of each other. The racially-charged murder of Ahmaud Arbery of Glynn County, Georgia was also a significant motivator.
The rationale was that, while this economic movement would not bring back those who had been lost, supporting Black Americans’ businesses would help the broader community prosper and achieve independence, comfort and perhaps even generational wealth – despite being disproportionately harmed, financially and physically, by systemic racism.
Fast forward to today. Black entrepreneurs remain a strong and ever-growing part of the broader business landscape. But they have maintained this status despite a now-growing number of hindrances – beyond a broader cultural regression, there are commerce-based examples like Target’s reversal of its former commitment to fostering diversity, equity and inclusion, which means the retailer is no longer featuring Black-owned businesses on their store shelves.
“What we’re seeing right now isn’t just a political shift – it’s a deliberate turning away from communities that have always been pushed to the margins,” Nikki Porcher, the Atlanta-based founder of nonprofit Buy From a Black Woman, told The Story Exchange. “The reduction in DEI commitments, cuts to inclusive funding programs, and the silencing of conversations about equity all have very real economic consequences, especially for Black-owned businesses.”
Which is why Porcher wants to bring the intention back to buying Black – and she’s got just the directory to make it happen. On Juneteenth, Porcher will debut Buy From a Black Business.
“Black businesses aren’t lacking talent or dedication, they’re lacking infrastructure and … long-term support,” Porcher explained about the launch. This new directory will fill those gaps, and her existing model proves it, she added. “Since 2021, Buy From A Black Woman has helped Black women entrepreneurs generate over $6.12 million in revenue. That’s not just a number – it’s proof that intentional support works, and that our programs create real economic impact.”
In addition to this new and broader directory, which Porcher says roughly 55,000 consumers will peruse per year, Buy From a Black Business will also be hosting efforts such as We Have Our Own Shelves, which will elevate “Black storefront owners who’ve opened their shelves to community commerce,” and A Summer of Legacy, which will tell “stories from Black business owners across the country.”
It’s a thriving legacy, despite the roadblocks. A report published in February by the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. – spearheaded by Brookings Metro, the organization’s community outreach arm, and the Path to 15 | 55 initiative, which aims to grow Black-owned businesses – said Black entrepreneurs were drivers of significant economic growth in the U.S.
Indeed, over half of the 132,000 new employer businesses – as in, businesses that provide jobs – launched between 2017 and 2022 were founded by Black entrepreneurs, researchers said. Black-woman-owned firms saw an especially significant boom in this time frame, expanding overall by 71.6% since 2017, wth their revenues growing by 82.1%.
Porcher wants to see that growth continue, and is especially excited about the prospect of such progress and momentum coming from Black people themselves. “Our community isn’t waiting for a seat at a table that was never built for us – we’re building our own.” ◼️
