We have seen so many lives lost at the hands of police officers both in the US and the UK and still, in 2020, there is little hope of any real justice. It hurts. A lot. #BlackLivesMatter
I strongly believe that if there were real consequences to endangering or harming black people, the number of cases would immediately drop by about 50%. If Karens and Kevins (my new label for Karen's male counterparts) knew that calling the police out on false claims would result in a conviction and a hefty fine, they would think twice before dialling (Central Park Karen, aka Amy Cooper, didn't face any criminal charges).
It's so unfair that it's up to black people to fix a problem that we didn't create nor perpetuate, but the reality is that white people, who are the benefactors of racism, have no incentive to do so. Until racism becomes a thorn in their side too, they will continue to ignore it. So I say yes to the protests, yes to the removal of all slaver statues, yes to the abolition of the police as we know it and yes to making sure there is no peace until there is justice! #NoJusticeNoPeace
As I said in my last podcast episode, 'Protests #BlackLivesMatter', one of the most effective ways to protest is financially. Stop spending your money with companies that enable racism by not hiring black people, stealing from black creatives, appropriating black cultures and/or staying silent as we are mistreated and killed globally. Black people provide huge financial capital to most companies so the best way to get their boardrooms to notice and possibly help make change, is to cause a huge decrease in profits.
There are other reasons why you should spend your coin with black owned companies:
We lit and the products we create are lit too. #Period
Help uplift and enrich black communities
Increase the number of successful black people
Black people are much more likely to hire other black people (except for Virgil Abloh that is 😒)
Help break the cycle of black people who, despite having great business acumen and creativity, are not given the same opportunity to thrive (e.g. business loans, licences, shop leases) and are therefore silenced by larger, white owned brands.
Please note: Not all skin folk are kin folk - beware of coons and racism apologisers.
As promised in the podcast episode, I have compiled a list of black owned brands/companies with whom to spend your hard earned coins and continue your protest against racism. I have selected businesses with an online presence that ship internationally so we can support them from all over the globe.
Womenswear 👗: WMNS Wear (wmnswear.com), Kílèntár (kilentar.com), Ardelle (ardelle.co.uk), Fenty (fenty.com), Nubian Skin (nubianskin.com), Savage X Fenty (savagex.com), Sé Adeoye (seadeoye.com), La Vie by CK (laviebyck.com)
Menswear 👔: Velviere (velviere.com), D'Trois (dtrois.com), Frere (frereny.com)
Footwear 👟: Tobe Footwear (tobefootwear.co.uk), Suavemien (suavemien.com), Jessica Rich (jessicarich.com), Aminah Abdul Jillil (aminahabduljillil.com)
Accessories 🕶: Perade (perade.bigcartel.com), Flossy Eyewear (flossyeyewear.com), Wearliving Jewellery (wearliving.com), Bami (www.bami.london), Isaac & Moore (isaacandmoore.com)
Skincare and Toiletries🧴: The Honey Pot Company (honeypot.co), Bevel (bevel.com), Chloe + Chad (chloeandchad.com), Anna Philip London (annaphilipldn.com), Ayele & Co. (ayele.co), Black Girl Sunscreen (blackgirlsunscreen.com), Frederick Benjamin Grooming (frederickbenjamin.com)
Home 🏡 (UK only): Furniture Villa (furniturevilla.co.uk), Bespoke Binny (bespokebinny.com), Prick (prickldn.com)
Activewear 💪🏾: YFitWear (yfitwear.com), LAPP (lappthebrand.com), DAMIHOW (damihow.com)
Liquor 🥃: Las Olas (lasolasrumclub.com), Padnas (@padnas on IG)
Bandaid/Plaster 🩹: Browndages (browndages.com)
There are a lot of popular hair and make-up brands that are black owned and can be purchased at various locations so here is a short list of my personal recommendations:
Make-up 💄: Uoma Beauty, Beauty Bakerie, Fenty Beauty, Pat McGrath
Hair 💆🏾♀: Camille Rose, TGIN, Shewiginit, Design Essentials, Miss Jessie's, Oyin Handmade
And finally, my US peeps have quite a few black owned beauty supply stores to pick from in each state but in the UK, most hair shops are owned by Asians; here are the few black owned hair shops I found in London:
TJ Hair & Cosmetics (SE17)
Hairglo (BR1 and online)
Golden Touch Hair & Cosmetics (E7 and online)
The journey to ending racism is still very long but for the first time in a long time, it feels like we are making strides towards significant change. The possibility that my children could grow up in a world that is better than the one I grew up in truly excites me and I want to encourage us all not to give up on this fight. Our ancestors didn't settle, so we shouldn't either.
A true ally will pull up.
I tried to provide a variety of styles and price ranges in my lists but there are many more black owned brands and companies so, if you have a fave, drop it in the comments below. Also, share this post so that others can join the protest while supporting black business owners. #ShopBlack
If you found this content helpful, feel free to buy me a coffee. 😊