More Than a Purchase: The Power of Supporting Black Business

August is recognized as National Black Business Month, a time to celebrate Black entrepreneurs, acknowledge their contributions to our economy, and encourage consumers to intentionally support Black-owned businesses. But I believe this conversation is bigger than one month and bigger than Black people supporting Black businesses. Supporting Black-owned businesses is something everyone can participate in. It is not about buying from a business simply because the owner is Black. Quality, service, integrity, and meeting a need still matter. It is about making sure that deserving Black-owned businesses have an opportunity to compete, grow, thrive, and contribute to the communities they serve. Sometimes we forget that where we spend our money can be an extension of what we value.

Black entrepreneurship in America has a long and complicated history. Following slavery and throughout segregation, Black Americans were often denied access to establishments, services, financing, property ownership opportunities, and many of the economic systems available to white Americans. In response, Black communities created businesses and institutions of their own. Entrepreneurship was not always simply about pursuing a dream. Sometimes it was about survival. Black doctors cared for patients who could not receive treatment elsewhere. Black dentists opened practices. Black-owned restaurants provided places where families could sit down and enjoy a meal with dignity. Barbershops and beauty salons became businesses as well as gathering places. Black entrepreneurs opened grocery stores, funeral homes, hotels, insurance companies, newspapers, retail establishments, and countless other enterprises.

During segregation, thriving Black business districts developed across the country. These communities remind us of something important: when people were denied access to the economic mainstream, they created opportunities for themselves and one another. In 1936 Victor Hugo Green, created The Negro Motorist Green Book to help Black travelers know where it would be safe to stop when they were driving from town to town.  There is a lesson in that history that still speaks to us today. This subject is also personal for me.

I come from a lineage of people who understood the importance of entrepreneurship, business ownership, and owning land. Long before I understood terms like generational wealth or economic empowerment, I had examples in my own family of people who understood the value of ownership. That legacy has influenced my own journey as an entrepreneur. Being in business is not easy. Anyone who has ever owned a small business knows that behind the logo, website, social media posts, products, and services is usually someone carrying a tremendous amount of responsibility. That is why I believe we should remember that when we support a small business, we are often supporting much more than the person standing behind the counter or whose name is on the company door. We may be helping someone pay an employee. We may be helping a parent provide for a child. We may be helping a young person receive their first job. We may be helping business owners purchase goods from another local vendor, sponsor a youth organization, contribute to a nonprofit, or invest back into the neighborhood.

This month, Los Angeles welcomed the inaugural LA Black Breakfast Club gathering at Simply Wholesome Restaurant, bringing people together while encouraging the community to patronize Black restaurants and businesses. On August 29, the Black Business Association in Los Angeles will host its Black Business Expo, creating another opportunity for entrepreneurs to showcase their businesses, build relationships, increase visibility, and connect with potential customers and partners. Events like this matter because one of the greatest resources we can offer entrepreneurs is opportunity. But supporting Black businesses cannot only happen at expos, special events, or during August. It must happen in our everyday choices. Strong businesses create jobs, generate tax revenue, provide services, create opportunities, and give people the ability to build something that can potentially be passed from one generation to the next. Will you make a conscious effort to support a Black owned business today?

Wendy is the Purpose Partner helping women go from Crossroads to Confidence, from Shaken to Unshakable, from Purpose to Power. To learn more visit WendyGladney.com and ForgivingForLiving.org