Lesley Brey
Reporter
This story is part three in an ongoing series by The Bengal Newspaper regarding Black History Month. Others parts in the series can be read at isubengal.com.
Although the end of the pandemic is in sight, for many of us relief can’t come soon enough. All across the nation workers have faced lay-offs, dangerous working conditions and increasingly strained social safety networks. If times are tough for the individual, then that goes double for small businesses. According to CBS at least 400,000 small businesses have been permanently shuttered since the start of the pandemic, with the actual number likely being far larger. Although businesses will see some support from the next COVID-19 relief bill, whether or not it will be enough to keep them afloat will depend on if consumers can make up the difference.
Statistically, the businesses that have been hit the hardest are black owned. CNN reports that black owned companies have been closing at twice the rate of white owned business, as well as at elevated rates compared to other minority owned businesses. This trend could prove to be especially problematic when it comes to economic recovery in a post-COVID-19 world. In an effort to reverse course, many Americans have started to participate in “Buy Black” programs, which focus on directing consumers towards black businesses either within their communities or online.
Here in Pocatello, less than 1% of the permanent population is black according to government census estimates, however, there are still ways Idaho State University students can support black businesses. With a stable internet connection, shopping black can be as easy as a few simple clicks.
The easiest way to get started is to visit websites like WeBuyBlack.com and Supportblackowned.com. These sites serve as a catalogue for hundreds of black vendors. As to what types of products these sites offer, the list is almost as extensive as Amazon’s. From cleaning chemicals to clothing to books to toys, there are tens of thousands of listings from thousands of black businesses.
If you’ve ever shopped on Etsy, you’ll be familiar with the quality of items that come from small businesses. Oftentimes in an effort to cut costs, large chains will use subpar materials and cut corners while manufacturing. Just this month unsafe levels of arsenic were found in dozens of popular commercial baby foods, in a report released by the United States Federal Government. While you should always be mindful of what you’re buying, shopping from a small business provides the customer with a direct line of communication with the manufacturer.
Furthermore, shopping small allows consumers to find products that are normally unavailable, or scarce regionally. Items for hair and skin care are sold at value, as opposed to the markups they are given in big-box stores. In 2021 no one should have to face the frustration of not having the products they need available for them simply because they are a person of color.
However, shopping black is about more than just convenience. Beyond the current pandemic black businesses have faced nothing short of open hostility for centuries. In the period immediately following emancipation, black wealth thrived. In cities such as Tulsa OK, Birmingham AL, and Richmond VA, bustling economic growth led the way to the creation of “Black Wall Streets.” Even though the American government never followed through on its promise for reparations, black americans were still able to build communities and start businesses.
In response, white lawmakers in several states and even federally sought ways to destroy what was being created. Black business owners were subjected to unequal taxation practices, lynchings, predatory land speculation, and disenfranchisement. Many white Americans are surprised to learn about the Tulsa race massacre of 1921, wherein a white mob stormed the black economic district of Tulsa pillaging and looting. Over 35 city blocks were torched, and although there we may never know the total death toll, a 2001 state commission estimated that as many as 300 black residents may have been murdered by the rioters, many of whom were hastily buried by the city in mass graves throughout the destroyed area. You can read more about the massacre at Tulsahistory.org, the official website of the city museum.
Idaho too, has a legacy of anti-black sentiment. In 1864, a year before the emancipation proclamation, Idaho passed a law that among other things limited voting in school elections to white males, as well as placed racial limitations on witnesses at trials. Black residents and other residents of color could not testify at trials involving white litigants. Furthermore, the Idaho state legislature didn’t repeal anti-miscegenation (interracial marriage) laws until 1959. Furthermore, Idaho has been home to dozens of anti-black terror groups over the years, ranging from several branches of the Ku Klux Klans to the self-described Nazis of the Aryan Nation setting up shop in the city of Coeur D’Alene. Through the use of threats and violence, these terrorists have played a heavy role in preventing black Idahoens from thriving or establishing businesses.
Supporting our black classmates, neighbors and friends extends far beyond tagging something as #blm or posting a fist on instagram. As consumers, we wield enormous power to support small businesses and uplift black voices. Shopping black is one way students can make an impact this Black History Month.
