On Monday, I met this person who I almost immediately could not stand. As I tried to decipher what it was about him that made me so twitchy, I observed him interrupt someone else mid sentence and mansplain something it was clear he didn’t have any expertise on for the third time, and then my eyes fell upon the safety pin adorning his hoodie. And I thought of course.
If you don’t know about the safety pin movement among white folks after the election or why it’s problematic, please read, writer for The Establishment, Ijeoma Oluo’s article. The point is safety pins and -I would add- hashtags aren’t enough. Wearing a Black Lives Matter shirt or putting a BLM sign in your yard or window is infinitely more impressive than a safety pin, but if that is the summation of our activism then it becomes merely conciliatory and not even for black folks, but for us.
I thought about this man and his safety pin again on Wednesday, when the autopsy report for Charleena Lyles came out. Why is it, fellow white people, that we seem to only remember to say Black Lives Matter after a black person is killed at the hands of police? Is that actually supportive? I mean, it’s not nothing, but it’s certainly not enough. The message that Black Lives Matter is an important one that deserves to be repeated in hashtags and printed on t-shirts and posted in shop windows and yet even if we say it all the time, saying it is not enough.
If we truly believe that black lives matter, then what are we doing in our everyday to demonstrate that that is true?
How are we supporting black lives not just mourning their death?
Did you know that in most parts of the U.S. (arguably all parts) it is significantly more difficult to obtain a loan for a house or a business as a person of color than it is as a white person? This means that people of color (POC) are risking more than a white person to establish a business and often lack the financial resources to fall back on should the business struggle (as many do) in its first year. You can read more about this in the excerpt from the study Race and Entrepreneurial Success by Fairlie and Robb and by doing a google search for “redlining” “housing discrimination” etc.
If you believe that black lives matter, then supporting black owned businesses is one tangible and practical way to live out that belief. We live in a consumer driven society, so use your financial power to support what matters to you. In other words, let’s go shopping.
Where do I start?
Now before you get carried away, I am not proposing that you appropriate and consume black culture. For white people, the moral of Solange’s song F.U.B.U is that some shit is not for us -as in not for white people, so please don’t go buying the continent of Africa earrings or a Dashiki and say I told you to do it. I did not.
You can however do some internet research about your community. What are the black owned businesses where you live? Is there a black owned grocery store, coffee shop, bookstore, restaurant? Some larger, more organized cities have websites devoted to supporting black owned businesses. For example Houston. They are usually not a comprehensive list, but they can be a good place to start. Once you find a few places, begin frequenting them. Make a point of spending your money in places owned and run by folks of color in your community.
What’s the next step?
Once this becomes a regular part of your routine, start planning for your next vacation. While you are deciding on where to go and what to do, add to your search what black owned businesses there are in the places you will be visiting. We tend to be a little more luxurious on vacation, eating out and buying gifts, so make a point of seeking out businesses to support that are owned and run by people of color on your vacation as well.
How do I get unstuck?
Etsy and Instagram are great places to find out about small businesses. Make a favorites page on your Etsy account of stores and follow them on Instagram. You will quickly learn about other stores you might also enjoy through their posts. Share that information with friends, so they can support them as well. Here are some lists from Huffpost to get you started: Black Owned Etsy Stores and Latinx Owned Etsy Stores. It’s not that you need to spend more money, but if you shift the way you spend the money you do have, it can make a big difference.
Please share businesses you love run by people of color in your community in the comments below.
Until next week,
Stephanie
Actively Disruptive 