Shopping black-owned businesses is one of the most powerful actions you can take to support the black community. Not only can your money help small businesses grow, it also puts power directly in the hands of black creators, employees and consumers. This can go a long way towards redistributing resources and promoting generational wealth, especially since white business owners have always had easier access to capital and more opportunities for growth. If you're looking for a place to start, here are some of the best black-owned stores to shop from.
Bar · Semicolon Bookstore · Uncle Bobbie's Coffee with Books is more than just a bookcase. It is a bookstore, a café and a feminist community space where women, in particular, can feel safe and welcome. And with book clubs specifically dedicated to women of color and feminism, it helps readers find kindred spirits and deepen their understanding of the world and others. Hannah Oliver Depp, the Black and Queer founder of Loyalty Bookstores, created the company to bring more diverse voices to the industry and provide a space that feels like home for marginalized people.
And for those of us who seek refuge in paper and ink, there is nothing more necessary. Semicolon Bookstore and Gallery is a bookstore owned by black women that also has a non-profit branch dedicated to increasing literacy rates in Chicago by providing free books to Chicago Public School students. Getting students to read and a space full of art and welcoming? Count on us to the end. After a hugely successful career in the 2000s, designer Kimora Lee Simmons relaunched Baby Phat, one of the first streetwear lines for women last year and now runs it alongside her daughters, Ming Lee and Aoki Lee.
While working in the fashion industry, Byron Peart, co-founder of GOODEE with Dexter Peart, said that we felt there were so many extremely skilled and underrepresented ethical creators around the world who desperately needed a platform to connect them with an equally engaged conscious consumer. Switching from fashion to household goods, the co-founders created GOODEE to help meet that need. The retailer showcases a variety of brands and offers items such as furniture, kitchen and dining products, decor and more. This Bronx-based company makes candles with 100% coconut wax and 100% cotton wicks.
Candles are poured by hand and use phthalate-free aromatic oils. Get the 3-in-1 leave-in lotion here and the moisture sealing ointment here. Mayvenn sells 100% human hair available in clip in extensions, tape extensions, bundles and wigs. The company was created to ensure that black-owned salons could purchase hair from a black-owned company, but also to provide individual extensions and wigs to interested customers. Founded in 19cus, Book Store is considered to be the oldest black-owned independent bookstore in the country.
Its mission is to provide opportunities for blacks and their allies to celebrate and learn about blacks everywhere. Marcus Books offers a wide catalog of selections, including books for children and young adults, classics, bestsellers, cookbooks, ancient and contemporary history, poetry, biography and graphic novels. Phenomenal Woman manufactures socially conscious shirts, sweaters and hoodies that give back and make a statement. The lifestyle brand takes its name from a poem by Maya Angelou was founded as a way to raise awareness about various social causes by Meena Harris. Sami Miró Vintage is an L, A label founded by multi-script creator and entrepreneur Sami Miró which has numerous celebrities as fans (Normani, Selena Gomez, Drake, Gigi and Bella Hadid). House of Aama is the brainchild of mother-daughter duo Rebecca Henry and Akua Shabaka who use fashion as a lens to celebrate African American traditions. Chelsea Paris is an African culture inspired shoe brand founded by Theresa Ebagua which mixes unique materials in a subtle way to honor both her heritage and art deco aesthetic.
Telsha Anderson's design concept store was launched in the midst of the pandemic which gained a huge following almost overnight. The New York online store if you are looking for unknown but super cool brands like Maryam Nassir Zadeh, William Okpo or Ottolinger. Galerie LA is celebrity stylist Dechel Mckillian's market which brings socially conscious fashion to emerging brands around the world. Jade Swim designs high quality swimwear with a modern minimalist lens founded by former editor Brittany Kozerski Freeney. Nude Barre is a black-owned brand founded by women that changes the script from “nude lingerie” by offering top-notch essentials in a range of shades that truly match your skin tone. The Folklore is a multi-brand concept store based in New York City that facilitates the purchase of African American inspired products.
