Hi friends,
Hope you all had a relaxing weekend. Last Friday’s email seems to have had some deliverability issues, so if you missed it you can check it out here. Now on to the important stuff…
Today, we recognize the courage and bravery of Martin Luther King Jr. Despite all of the progress that’s been made, there is still a long (emphasis on the long) way to go towards racial equality. Especially in business, where less than 1% of the $85 billion of venture capital deployed in 2018 went to women of color.
Another crazy (not-so) fun fact: Black-owned small businesses are turned down for loans twice as frequently as white business owners and have been hit disproportionally hard by the pandemic.
I’ll be showcasing below a collection of rising and landmark, unique black-owned small businesses. Showing support for these minority-owned ventures is more important now than ever.
Sister’s Uptown Bookstore - The only black-owned Bookstore in Manhattan.
Goodee - A curated marketplace of meaningful, artisan homeware and lifestyle brands dedicated to providing sustainable products for modern living.
Diop - A Detroit based, diaspora inspired streetwear brand. Many of the garments feature Ankara, a boldly colored and patterned fabric used throughout West Africa. At the start of the pandemic, they began selling Malian mud cloth inspired face masks. A portion of all mask profits are donated to Feed the Frontlines. They’ve donated over $116,000 to date.
Rooted Woman - Non-toxic, ethical and vegan-friendly nail polishes.
Eu’Genia Shea - Derived from the Greek words Eu-Genia meaning the “origin of goodness”, Eugenia Shea offer all-natural premium Naasakle Shea Butter moisturizers. This mother-daughter run business puts 15% of all profits into an education fund to give back to their women workers in Ghana.
CoCo and Breezy - Corianna and Brianna Dotson’s experiences with childhood bullying led them to create Coco and Breezy eyewear. The brand now offers a full collection of stylish optical eyewear and sunglasses.
Bookmark Boutique - A literary gift shop that sells beautifully made gold and silver bookmarks.
Brooklyn Tea - A small tearoom in BedStuy, Brooklyn that offers a variety of organic teas and teaware. If you’re not a New Yorker, don’t worry. They ship nationwide.
McBride Sisters Wine Collection - The largest black-owned wine company in the US offering affordable and sustainably sourced wines.
To shop thousands of more black-owned businesses, check out some of these links:
25 Black-Owned Businesses You Can Support Right Now - Oprah Mag
100 Black-Owned Businesses to Support - Forbes
180 Black-Owned Businesses to Support in 2021 - New York Mag
The more eyes on these businesses the better, so feel free to pass this list along to anyone who you think would enjoy.
That’s it for this week. If you’ve recently subscribed and want to look back on some old editions, here are a couple of my favorites: The Owls and the Larks and Friday Features - OthersideAI Interview. You can also follow me on Twitter or check out randymginsburg.com for more writing.
Thanks for reading,
Randy