Representing Black Businesses On Ujamaa, the Fourth Night of Kwanzaa

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Find & Support Black-Owned Businesses With These Apps & Websites

Following the police killing of George Floyd in May, protests broke out across the country. We encourage everyone to continue this fight in 2021 by marching in local protests, signing online petitions, donating, and calling elected officials, but there’s another way to fight systemic racial inequality, and that’s by putting your money where your mouth is. Make a commitment to support Black-owned businesses in your area.Over the summer, Twitter users began asking their friends and followers to share their own or their favorite Black-owned businesses. While sifting through social media responses is one way to find spots to support, there were a lot of tweets containing the phrase “Black-owned businesses.” So if you’re looking to find a Black-owned business quickly — perhaps in time for take-out dinner tonight — there are also many useful resources online and in the app store that can help.Ahead are top-ranking websites and apps that allow you to locate and patronize Black-owned businesses in your area. Download these apps and visit these websites to find restaurants, stores, and a variety of different establishments all founded by Black entrepreneurs.Black Business Green BookAccording to the progressive nonprofit civil rights advocacy organization Color of Change, Black businesses are less likely to get aid, much less likely to secure PPP, and have been closing at higher rates during the COVID-19 pandemic. To help combat even more closures, the organization recently launched the Black Business Green Book, a new digital directory where consumers can discover Black-owned brands. Use Black Business Green Book to browse different categories, including home goods, health/wellness, art & photography, food & drink, fashion/clothing, booksellers, and body/beauty. You can also shop by state or online-only sellers. Color of Change will also use Black Business Green Book to publish content including stories about specific Black businesses and resources to help you join the fight to get Black entrepreneurs protection and relief. SunUpLaunching September 1, SunUp’s goal is to enable all of us to collectively support and empower the black community. Founders Christiana Greene and Braxton Brown came up with the idea for SunUp in the summer of 2019 at a local bar. The inspiration for the name, however, came from an uncomfortable experience Brown had in a former sundown city while on a road trip to Texas in 2010. For those who may not know, sundown cities were places where non-white people weren’t allowed to be out after sundown from the late 1800s through the 1960s. SunUp, acts as the opposite of that, aiming to be “the beacon of light to support the black community to lead our generation and the next.”New Yorkers can now use the newly released SunUp app to search for Black-owned businesses in their area. Various tags allow you to refine your search so you can find exactly the type of business you’re looking for. Black-owned businesses can be featured on the app by filling out a form on the SunUp website. There, anyone can sign up to receive updates about the app as well. Who knows, it could soon be coming to your city.Download SunUp on iOS.Black NationBlack Nation was launched in 2018 by entrepreneur Rameish Budhoo. With its recent update, Black Nation has become the first Black-owner social directory. It’s like an all-new Instagram for people in the Black community. Now, all Businesses can create giveaways and use the app’s social component to connect with customers, friends, or family. Users, brands, public figures, influencers, and more can connect easily using the new upgraded application. According to a Black Nation spokesperson, “The name of the App was crucial. We wanted the name of the App to reflect its vision and purpose, which is Black empowerment and Black ownership, but most importantly Black unity, thus the name Black Nation.” Download Black Nation on iOSDownload Black Nation on Google PlayShop Black OwnedIf you’re ing New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, or Dallas, check out Shop Black Owned. This newly launched open-source tool was created by Coast and Janet Gardner with the goal of providing wider visibility to Black-owned businesses and connecting consumer buying power to positive economic and social change. Right now, the tool features over 1,000 Black-owned businesses and will be launching in other cities soon.The Black Owned DirectoryThe Black Owned Directory is a new website that is itself Black-owned and was created for people of all races to come together and support Black-owned businesses nationwide. According to Jasmine Carter, The Black Owned Directory’s founder, “Shopping Black-owned should be a lifestyle, not a fad.” The platform allows users to discover Black-owned businesses nearby, as well as shop online goods and services. Shoppers can type in keywords and scroll through Black-owned business listing results that pop up. Each business profile shares details about the business, its website link, photos, videos, social media pages, contact information, hours of operation, and more. The directory’s Google Maps integration also allows users to easily locate businesses in their city, within a radius of the user’s choice.Follow The Black Owned Directory on InstagramFollow The Black Owned Directory on TwitterLike The Black Owned Directory on FacebookChez Nous GuideLaunched in June 2020 by founder and CEO Kristyn Potter, Chez Nous Guide is a volunteer-run inclusive and intersectional home for businesses, artists, and organizations that are owned and operated by historically marginalized people. The guide’s mission is amplifying POC, women, and LGBTQIA+ voices and bolstering their projects. This is done by providing users with resources that help them support diversity, shop inclusively, and travel ethically. On Chez Nous Guide’s website, you’ll find city guides as well as listings in the following categories: eat, drink, community, health + safety, music & culture, shop, travel, services, events, and jobs.Follow Chez Nous Guide on InstagramFollow Chez Nous Guide on TwitterLike Chez Nous Guide on FacebookeatOkraFounded in 2016 by Anothy Edwards and Janique Bradley, eatOrka is a Black-owned restaurant directory. As of right now, the app features over 2,500 Black-owned restaurants across the country. With eatOkra, you can search by cuisine and location. Once you’ve identified the restaurant you’d like to patronize, you can select delivery or navigate. Select delivery and the app will show you which apps or services the restaurant delivers through. Select navigate, and you’ll be shown directions through your preferred navigation app or ride-share service. On the app, you can also recommend a business to be featured. According to the company’s website, eatOkra’s mission is “to provide a food-themed directory that encourages fellowship through one specific avenue, Black food.”Download eatOkra on iOSDownload eatOkra on Google PlayWeBuyBlackWeBuyBlack is the largest online marketplace for Black-owned businesses. In its description on Facebook, the company writes, “Some say we are the Black Amazon, but their job is to make us dependent, our job is to make us independent.” To use WeBuyBlack to find items you need from Black sellers, search the product in the “What do you need to find” window at the top of the site’s homepage. You can also browse items in categories including books, clothing & accessories, jewelry, children & toys, art & collectibles, health & beauty, home & living, games, and holidays. Follow WeBuyBlack on InstagramFollow WeBuyBlack on TwitterLike WeBuyBlack on FacebookOfficial Black Wall StreetWith over 5,000 Black-owned businesses in 10 different countries currently listed, Official Black Wall Street is one of the largest Black-owned business discovery apps. Black business owners can create a listing for their business through the app, and consumers can find Black-owned businesses of all kinds in their area, as well as access reviews, directions, photos, offers, and more. The app also allows users to receive alerts when they are near a Black-owned business so they can pop in and check it out. Official Black Wall Street was founded in 2014 by Mandy Bowman, and according to the app’s About Us section, “Studies show that out of [Black Americans’] $1.1 trillion buying power only 2% is invested in Black-owned businesses. This platform was created out of a need to support businesses that are owned and operated by Black entrepreneurs to funnel more of that money back into our communities.”Download Official Black Wall Street on iOSDownload Official Black Wall Street on Google PlayBlack-Owned BrooklynBlack-Owned Brooklyn is a digital publication that features a “curated guide to Black Brooklyn’s people, places, and products,” so it’s a great resource for New Yorkers. Husband and wife team Tayo Giwa and Cynthia Gordy Giwa, who founded the site in 2018, also document Black life in Brooklyn more broadly through the publication. In a mission statement on the site, the Black-Owned Brooklyn team writes, “We seek to lift up and preserve rich stories that are often overlooked in gentrified Brooklyn and encourage you to learn more about — and participate in — the creativity, beauty, and self-determination throughout our community.”On Black-Owned Brooklyn, you can read write-ups of Black-owned businesses in Brooklyn in the food and drink, home and design, style and beauty, and health and wellness spaces, as well as history and culture pieces. The website also has a frequently updated map showing the businesses it features. Follow Black-Owned Brooklyn on InstagramLike Black-Owned Brooklyn on FacebookWhereU Came FromLaunched in 2016 by business psychologist and tech executive Dr. Dionne Mahaffey as a subsidiary of her company, The CPAI Group, Inc., WhereU Came From publishes crowd-sourced listings and referrals about Black-owned businesses. The app and website both have a business search functionality, which offers a real-time leaderboard of Black-owned businesses across categories, ranked by peer-to-peer referral counts.Download WhereU Came From on iOSI Am Black BusinessI Am Black Business is a company whose main purpose is to “empower and uplift the Black businesses that already exist.” The website and app act as directories of Black-owned businesses in your area. You can discover new spots to support as well as search for specific services. According to the official website, the organization’s goal is two-fold. It’s here to help Black business owners use technology to expand their reach and increase profitability. I Am Black Business also helps “equip customers with a tool that will allow them to consciously decide where they spend their money and who they are supporting.”Download I Am Black Business on iOSDownload I Am Black Business on Google PlaySupport Black OwnedFounded in 2012, Support Black Owned is a dedicated search-engine for Black-owned businesses. You can use the SBO app or website to find a business through the state search, category search, global search, or site search options. In addition to helping consumers support Black-owned businesses, SBO provides a communication link between customers and owners in an effort to improve experiences and products.Download Support Black Owned on iOsDownload Support Black Owned on Google PlayGot Soul?GotSoul? is a restaurant guide and food experiences app that features over 4,300 African-inspired restaurants and dining experiences. Find Cajun food, Creole food, Nigerian food, Gullah food, Jamaican food, Afro-Brazilian food, and more near you. According to WENY News, 98% of the restaurants and experiences found on the app are Black-owned. In addition to being a guide, Got Soul? also offers time-based discounts every day. Simply pick a restaurant or food experience, click, and get a digital coupon or voucher that can be redeemed instantly. Download Got Soul? on iOsDownload Got Soul? on Google PlayLike what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?TikTok’s #BlackLivesMatter & #GeorgeFloyd Issues5 Black-Owned Skin-Care BrandsWhy TikTokers Changed Their Profile Pictures