Why Buy Us, For Us
I thought I could go about quietly, actively, and intentionally supporting Black-owned businesses – and those businesses that have been true co-conspirators to the Black community. But – and I’m not sure if I’ll ever understand it – it seems like one of the questions I get most often get is: why? Why make the effort? Why does it matter? How can it make a difference?
Occasionally the questions crop up when I mention the hours it takes to comb through sites to find perfect items, confirm the identity behind shops, or do a bit of research about large retailers to ensure they are not making performative commitments to wealth equity. Other times these comments are rooted in anti-Black sentiment or bias, with folks quick to indict all Black-owned businesses based on a bad experience at one.
But even when I chose to ignore those comments, I’m still asked to justify my stance and careful cultivation of support for Black-owned and Black or BIPOC -allied businesses … so I thought it through – here are my top 5 reasons for Buy Us, For Us.
Black parents are the engine behind many small businesses
First and foremost, this site is all about Black parenting – about us thriving and the excellence in our village. What many Black parents start as side hustles, grow into the small businesses behind many of the brands and stores I choose to find and highlight on this site – like K
idsSwag. This is a shop started by a mom like us, who saw a need, worked hard to fill it and is doing fab work to make sure our kids are seen.
And Black parents who are writers, artists and designers are also the business owners who are supported when companies like Indigo live up to their commitment to increase support for Black-owned creators. Black parents are the business owners who hire Black students – yes it counts even if those students are their children or family members because it’s about time nepotism worked for us. These business owners also share the wealth and show other young Black entrepreneurs the way. While for the mainstream, supporting Black is often a trend forgotten outside of Black history month, that’s not the case here! By supporting Black-owned business owners, authors, and creatives all day, every day ParentingWhileBlack supports the Black parents powering these businesses, the Black families who benefit from them and the wealth equity that benefits all of us. Win, win, win in my books.
I support Black-owned businesses that make beautiful, unique stuff that call out systems of oppression and ensure our kids see themselves.
I love that Black Santa graces Old Navy Pajamas. But it can’t help but feel like a marketing ploy that would have been dropped had the masses rejected it. Black-owned businesses, like Misfit Culture choose to reflect who we are and who we can be in every item, ev
ery day – even when this might mean they have a smaller audience. If we want to see ourselves represented, we should support those who are committed to an authentic reflection of who we are.
Even with all the fabulous things I have found in my searches, I am sure I haven’t even scratched the surface of finding and showcasing the talent and products created and sold by entrepreneurs within our community.
I’m pro-Black success and anti-the wealth gap.
After reading her book I have to agree with Rachel Rodgers – “We should all be Millionaires”. As she so eloquently argues, we must move past old arguments that demonize wealth and a scarcity mindset if we are to benefit from the ways that wealth can help to increase economic, and political, power.
Black-owned businesses are often hardest hit by recessions – and pandemics – and have a harder time securing the financing and support given to white or male business owners. Venture capital firms often ignore and underfund Black entrepreneurs. Many Black entrepreneurs have to work and hustle and invest far more sweat and personal financial equity into getting their business off the ground than their white counterparts. Until the social justice movement of 2020, Black businesses were kept out of traditional major retail spaces and even now many retailers are falling behind on their commitment to carrying Black-owned products on their shelves. Less access to capital and fewer opportunity for Black entrepreneurs and professionals has contributed to a wealth gap as well as less intergenerational wealth in the Black community in Canada. To create economic freedom, we have to create our own success story – one important way we can hope to do this is to support Black-owned businesses and Buy Us, For Us.
When Black business owners succeed, many of them tend to invest in helping others succeed or help to support equity for others.
Canadian powerhouse Vivian Kaye is the entrepreneur and working mom behind KinkyCurlyYaki. After leading her textured hair extension business to 7 figure success, Kaye stepped up to support the Founders Fund and helps to mentor women of colour to follow their entrepreneurial ambitions. Vivian Kaye is also a business and empowerment expert who offers inspiration as a speaker at corporate events and through brand partnerships.
Wes Hall, one of the most famous Black entrepreneurs in Canada, the Black Dragon, and a Black parent, has been candid about the racism he still experiences in the boardroom. Known as the @kingofbayst, Hall founded the Black North Initiative an organization that works to provide the connections, education, and support needed to get more Black professionals at the board and executive tables in Canada’s largest organizations.
The entrepreneur behind Misfit Culture make no bones about their stance and their work to make the world a more equitable place.
Black entrepreneurs often jump all the hurdles we can’t see and then bear the weight of being not only economic powerhouses but community leaders.
Black parent’s buying habits have power. We should use it wisely.
As a parent, it’s amazing how much of our time is spent buying our kids’ “stuff”. I’ve lamented about all the “stuff” I could have purchased instead of choosing to responsibly adult.
But even outside of essential items like orthodontics, food, formula, or diapers Parents are buying stuff anyways. No matter what. All. The. Time.
According to McKinsey and Co., Black consumers represent a $300 billion a year market opportunity. For companies who tailor their products to meet their needs, plus spending in Black households has increased 5 percent annually over the past two decades and this outpaced the growth rate of spending by White households (3 percent). While these figures refer to the US market – Canada has a growing market to serve. According to StatsCan, in the last 20 years, Canada’s Black population has doubled and the Black population is younger than the average age of Canadians, 26.6 percent of Black households have children under the age of 15 (versus only 16.9 percent of the overall population). The youth and growth of the Black Canadian market make us a strong force to be reckoned with.
From trying to accommodate those aspirational holiday and birthday wish lists to the mountain of extras we are on the financial hook for – like schools supplies, hair products, clothes, and home décor – replacement snow pants or winter boots when your child mysteriously arrives home without them, even though you put their name tags in them and ask them three times to remember them…
Oh. Sorry. I digress …
Anyway – It takes a lot of “stuff” for us parents to provide for and comfort the expensive tiny humans we care for.
If we start to add up all the other children most of us shop for and spoil each year as Auntie, Uncle, grandparents, or godparents – we caregivers are a small but mighty economic powerhouse. With great power comes great responsibility. I believe great things could happen if we parents made intentional, purposeful efforts to wield our considerable economic power to support our businesses and communities. So I try to make it easier to do that by featuring Black-owned products, services, or those large retailers who have made concerted efforts to stock their shelves with BIPOC-owned product offerings.
Despite fewer support networks and unequal access to resources, Black-owned entrepreneurs have been resilient and continue to thrive and offer unique, and often Black-centered offerings. Plenty of reasons it makes sense to Buy Us, For Us.
In the name of transparency, l always let readers know if a post on this site contains affiliate links because purchases made through affiliate links will result in a small commission for myself. But in other cases, I will often feature products and links to small Black-owned businesses that are not part of an affiliate program and I have no stake in these businesses. One way or another, if you choose to purchase anything through the links on these pages, you can be confident that any purchases made through this site support Black or BIPOC-owned business interests.
As a Black parenting blog, this site is committed to offering Black parents a space to be intentional in how we wield our enormous purchasing power. From hair bonnets and clothes to books, home décor, and vacations our choices make a difference and impact our community today and in the future. That’s why Parenting While Black will remain intentional in showcasing Black and BIPOC-owned products and services and affiliating with major retailers who are dedicated to wealth equity.
It takes a village, Parenting While Black is ours.