DMT Beauty Transformation: Find & Support Black-Owned Businesses With These Apps & Websites
featured Khareem Sudlow

Find & Support Black-Owned Businesses With These Apps & Websites

June 02, 2020DMT Beauty

#DMTBeautySpot #beauty

Following the police killing of George Floyd last Monday, protests have broken out across the country. We encourage everyone to join the fight by marching in local protests, signing online petitions, donating, and calling your elected officials, but there's another way to fight systemic racial inequality, and that's by putting your money where your mouth is. Make a commitment to support Black-owned businesses in your area.

Right now, Twitter users are asking their friends and followers to share their own or their favorite Black-owned businesses. While sifting through social media responses is one way to find spots to support, there were over 650 tweets containing the phrase "Black-owned businesses" shared in the last hour alone. So if you're looking to find a Black-owned business quickly — perhaps in time for take-out dinner tonight — there are also many useful resources online and in the app store that can help.

Ahead are top-ranking websites and apps that allow you to locate and patronize Black-owned businesses in your area. Download these apps and visit these websites to find restaurants, stores, and a variety of different establishments all founded by Black entrepreneurs.

Black Nation

Black Nation was launched in 2018 by entrepreneur Rameish Budhoo. The app allows Black-owned businesses to have a place to list their businesses for free and to create visibility, not just to people in their areas but for people around the world. To use the app as a consumer, simply search for the kind of business you need in dozens of categories and check out the top results instantly.

According to a Black Nation spokesperson, "The name of the App was crucial. We wanted the name of the App to reflect its vision and purpose, which is Black empowerment and Black ownership, but most importantly Black unity, thus the name Black Nation."

Download Black Nation on iOS
Download Black Nation on Google Play

eatOkra


Founded in 2016 by Anothy Edwards and Janique Bradley, eatOrka is a Black-owned restaurant directory. As of right now, the app features over 2,500 Black-owned restaurants across the country. With eatOkra, you can search by cuisine and location. Once you've identified the restaurant you'd like to patronize, you can select delivery or navigate. Select delivery and the app will show you which apps or services the restaurant delivers through. Select navigate, and you'll be shown directions through your preferred navigation app or ride-share service. On the app, you can also recommend a business to be featured.

According to the company's website, eatOkra's mission is "to provide a food-themed directory that encourages fellowship through one specific avenue, Black food."

Download eatOkra on iOS
Download eatOkra on Google Play

WeBuyBlack


WeBuyBlack is the largest online marketplace for Black-owned businesses. In its description on Facebook, the company writes, "Some say we are the Black Amazon, but their job is to make us dependent, our job is to make us independent." To use WeBuyBlack to find items you need from Black sellers, search the product in the "What do you need to find" window at the top of the site's homepage. You can also browse items in categories including books, clothing & accessories, jewelry, children & toys, art & collectibles, health & beauty, home & living, games, and holidays.

Follow WeBuyBlack on Instagram
Follow WeBuyBlack on Twitter
Like WeBuyBlack on Facebook

Official Black Wall Street


With over 5,000 Black-owned businesses in 10 different countries currently listed, Official Black Wall Street is one of the largest Black-owned business discovery apps. Black business owners can create a listing for their business through the app, and consumers can find Black-owned businesses of all kinds in their area, as well as access reviews, directions, photos, offers, and more. The app also allows users to receive alerts when they are near a Black-owned business so they can pop in and check it out.

Official Black Wall Street was founded in 2014 by Mandy Bowman, and according to the app's About Us section, "Studies show that out of [Black Americans'] $1.1 trillion buying power only 2% is invested in Black-owned businesses. This platform was created out of a need to support businesses that are owned and operated by Black entrepreneurs to funnel more of that money back into our communities."

Download Official Black Wall Street on iOS
Download Official Black Wall Street on Google Play

Black-Owned Brooklyn


Black-Owned Brooklyn is a digital publication that features a "curated guide to Black Brooklyn's people, places, and products," so it's a great resource for New Yorkers. Husband and wife team Tayo Giwa and Cynthia Gordy Giwa, who founded the site in 2018, also document Black life in Brooklyn more broadly through the publication. In a mission statement on the site, the Black-Owned Brooklyn team writes, "We seek to lift up and preserve rich stories that are often overlooked in gentrified Brooklyn and encourage you to learn more about — and participate in — the creativity, beauty, and self-determination throughout our community."

On Black-Owned Brooklyn, you can read write-ups of Black-owned businesses in Brooklyn in the food and drink, home and design, style and beauty, and health and wellness spaces, as well as history and culture pieces. The website also has a frequently updated map showing the businesses it features.

Follow Black-Owned Brooklyn on Instagram
Like Black-Owned Brooklyn on Facebook

WhereU Came From


Launched in 2016 by business psychologist and tech executive Dr. Dionne Mahaffey as a subsidiary of her company, The CPAI Group, Inc., WhereU Came From publishes crowd-sourced listings and referrals about Black-owned businesses. The app and website both have a business search functionality, which offers a real-time leaderboard of Black-owned businesses across categories, ranked by peer-to-peer referral counts.

Download WhereU Came From on iOS

I Am Black Business


I Am Black Business is a company whose main purpose is to "empower and uplift the Black businesses that already exist." The website and app act as directories of Black-owned businesses in your area. You can discover new spots to support as well as search for specific services. According to the official website, the organization's goal is two-fold. It's here to help Black business owners use technology to expand their reach and increase profitability. I Am Black Business also helps "equip customers with a tool that will allow them to consciously decide where they spend their money and who they are supporting."

Download I Am Black Business on iOS
Download I Am Black Business on Google Play

Support Black Owned


Founded in 2012, Support Black Owned is a dedicated search-engine for Black-owned businesses. You can use the SBO app or website to find a business through the state search, category search, global search, or site search options. In addition to helping consumers support Black-owned businesses, SBO provides a communication link between customers and owners in an effort to improve experiences and products.

Download Support Black Owned on iOs
Download Support Black Owned on Google Play

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DMTBeautySpot

via https://www.DMTBeautySpot.com

Olivia Harrison, Khareem Sudlow

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