When I went to church this past Sunday, we had a guest speaker, Maggie Anderson, from the Empowerment Experience. In a nutshell, Maggie and her husband John, pledged to patronize only Black-Owned businesses for one year. Now, I was truly feeling her message. We need to give Black Business Owners a shot at establishing and growing their companies. Large scale corporations squeeze out the Mom & Pop businesses all the time (where you at Starbucks & Wal-Mart?), so it feels good to root for the underdog, so to speak.
I went home and looked up the Empowerment Experience online, and just when I thought all was well…I found out that it wasn’t. This is not to say that the Andersons Africa where they belong were commonplace. Then I thought about it. If I bought from Black-Owned businesses only, would that make me a racist?
I’m not sure; and while I’d love to support Black-owned businesses, there are some places that are owned by Whites, Asians, Latinos, Indians, etc. that I patronize on the regular. Why? Because they give great service and they have great prices. Would continuing to support them make me a sell-out? I’ve been going back and forth on this for the past couple of days…what do you think?
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2 comments:
As the owner of a Black-owned business, Azizi Books, I totally understand your question. One should not feel compelled to buy Black just because it is. Certainly you want to seek establishments that offer great service and prices. However, where possible, and time permits conscious choice, consider spending with Black businesses, particularly if they are in your community. That may be a more relevant stance. Dollars spent where you live helps to maintain the viability of your community.
Hi Kevin! Thanks for your comment and welcome to the site! I definitely want to support all good businesses but I definitely want to give Black businesses a chance to be successful. I just think that the media holds us to a different standard because people choose to buy black. No one makes a huge deal about Jews buying Jewish or Koreans buying from Koreans. BTW, I looked at your site and you are in my neck of the woods....Since I love to buy books, I'm definitely gonna stop by and check it out. My father had been looking for a Black-Owned Bookstore in the South Suburbs too...
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