4 ways to close America’s huge racial ‘opportunity gap’
The net worth of a typical Black family is only 10% of that of the typical white family, and the unemployment rate for Black Americans consistently has been double that of white Americans for four decades. These are just two of the outcomes resulting from long-standing systemic disadvantages that perpetuate an inequality of opportunity based on the color of one’s skin.
This past month’s national dialogue on racial equality has brought many painful truths to the fore. Acknowledging these truths is important. Taking action to address them is essential.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the largest lobbying organization in the nation, representing businesses of all sizes across all sectors, touching every corner of our country. With that reach comes a responsibility to drive sustained action to eliminate systemic disadvantages. Convinced that our own previous efforts have been insufficient, we have committed to put the collective muscle of American...
Blackout Day draws national attention to Black spending power
Many Black Americans on Tuesday participated in a one-day spending stoppage called Blackout Day. Not opening their wallet was part of a larger effort aimed at highlighting how the Black dollar powers the U.S. economy and how America would be a very different place if Black consumers aren't participating.
Black athletes and celebrities – including singer Rihanna, Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson and rapper Cardi B – have used social media to bring wider attention to Blackout Day in recent weeks. Rapper T.I. said via Instagram that there should be "one day of solidarity in America when not one Black person in America spends a dollar."
The Blackout Day movement is in its infancy and it hasn't caught on with every Black American. Although some African-Americans didn't spend money on July 7, others instead patronized Black-owned businesses — and some likely ignored the call altogether. Either way, the day has its roots in trying to...
Black Americans Encouraged Not to Spend a Dime on #BlackoutDay2020
NATIONWIDE -- Tuesday, July 7, marks Blackout Day 2020, which is a social media campaign aimed at demonstrating just how powerful an economic force Black Americans are.
The campaign urges Black Americans not spend any money at all for the duration of Tuesday, but if they must they are encouraged to do so at Black-owned businesses only.
The campaign has been heavily promoted by activist Calvin Martyr and has been endorsed by celebrities including rapper T.I.
The ultimate goal of the campaign is to force business leaders and politicians to recognize and eliminate institutional racism.
'This is the only way to get real change': How Black Americans are using their purchasing power as a means of protest on #BlackOutDay2020
The #BlackOutDay2020 movement and Blackout Coalition were started by a Texas man named Calvin Martyr as an effort to reveal the impact of the Black dollar and to further unify the Black community on the basis of economic power. “Our mission is to create an international community of economic solidarity and national consciousness unified around our common experience and ancestry as Emancipated Peoples of America,” a statement on the Blackout Day website reads.
According to a 2019 Nielsen report about Black consumers, the purchasing power of Black Americans is over $1 trillion. In a video on Instagram, Martyr explains how keeping that money within...
Blackout Day 2020 sweeps the Triangle, consumers urged to support only Black-owned businesses
"Corporations realize that Black consumerism is powerful," said Dr. Henry McKoy, professor and director of Entrepreneurship and Small Business at North Carolina Central University. "The Black dollar is everywhere."
According to Nielsen's 2018 study, African American's make up nearly 14 percent of the population, but over-index four top purchases: ethnic hair products and beauty aids ($54.4 million, or 85.65% of all purchases), women's fragrances ($152 million, 22.37% of all purchases), feminine hygiene products ($54.1 million, 21.04% of all purchases) and men's toiletries ($62...
Blackout Day economic protest encourages shoppers to buy only from Black-owned businesses Tuesday, boycott others
Americans have plans to send a message at the checkout counter on Tuesday amid renewed calls for racial equality across the country.
Tuesday, July 7, has been designated Blackout Day, a call to action and “day of solidarity in America where not one Black person in America spends a dollar" outside of businesses owned by Black people, according to the movement's official website.
The initiative comes in the wake of protests against police brutality and renewed attention to the nation's decades-long racial wealth gap. As society has awakened to unfairness plaguing Black people in America, Black-owned businesses are getting showered with support in a loosely connected push for social and economic justice.
Reshauna Striggles, a protest leader in Arizona, told the Arizona Republic, part of the USA TODAY Network, that people can fight systemic racism by patronizing Black- and...
12 Black Businesses To Support For Blackout Day 2020
George Floyd's death was 'murder'
(CNN)Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo says the death of George Floyd was "murder" and that the officer who was seen pressing his knee into Floyd's neck "knew what he was doing" because he had taken specific training on preventing "positional asphyxiation," or suffocation.
She created a platform to mobilize consumers to buy Black. In 3 days they spent over half a million dollars
As Black Lives Matter protests continue to take place around the world, Kezia Williams, an entrepreneur and executive, is urging activists and allies to exercise their economic power by spending more money with Black-owned businesses.
On Juneteenth, Williams launched the #MyBlackReceipt initiative to encourage consumers to buy from Black-owned companies and upload the receipts of their purchases to the myblackreceipt.com platform. The goal, Williams says, is to get Black customers and allies to spend at least $5 million with Black businesses from Juneteenth to July 6, a day before “Blackout Day” in which community leaders are asking Black consumers and allies to not spend any money for a day in hopes that the economic solidarity will raise awareness about racial injustice.
“As my team and I were watching the civil unrest unfold in the news, we were asking ourselves, ‘How can we be useful during this time,’” says...
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