Support Black Businesses After The Woke Renaissance

I’m so proud of me.

I’m done bellyaching over my Illustrator issues for a minute, y’all. I’m taking a moment to embrace my progress!

These are just mockups I was playing with at the time. But, once this video was done, I wanted to keep that same energy that 2020 ignited us with and contact a local, Black-owned business about getting the design printed. Not only is it Black History Month, but…I just hate fake.

I can be classy and educated. I can be ghetto and ratchet. But I cannot be fake. I just can’t do it.

After all the black squares and tears, and sharing of the platforms, and all that, if there’s no lasting change to be seen, what was it for? Chiiiilllle…I hate to waste my energy.

Check out these reasons to support Black-owned businesses during Black History Month by The National Black Guide…and if you haven’t done so yet, think it over.

I just did it and it was my first time deliberately searching for a Black-owned business.

Technically, I’m not much of a shopper unless it’s books or drawing, craft, or art-making supplies. If nobody else in my city shopped at Michael’s, I could singlehandedly hold them down for a good three months.

But, I generally just buy what I want wherever I find it. I have never taken into account the tendencies of social media platforms and their algorithms or access to professional marketing, funding or lucrative partnerships (or lack thereof). I imagine certain barriers in our country making it more difficult for Black business owners to succeed due to stereotyping and institutionalized racism…and perhaps, white skin being seen as the default for everything including Jesus Himself. That’s not to bash or discriminate against white-owned businesses. It’s just to say it’s time to decentralize them in my own purchasing decisions. My patronage in 2021 should be way more diverse than what it has been given my 2020. Maybe yours should be too.

So, this past weekend, my introvert self reached out (😳) to some FB friends for some suggestions. I live in Delaware and one of them suggested I try T&T Custom Embroidery. I reached out to the owner and provided the gradient file. He asked me to return it to him all black without the gradient. Though mildly disappointed, I was okay with that. But, at the end of the day, he said he’d be unable to complete the order due to some family issues. Bummer.

I was running out of time. Although I had found some other local businesses, I hadn’t heard from any of them.

I was ready to give up on the buying local part. So, I reached out to a couple other Black-owned t-shirt companies that weren’t so local, including one in Virginia and I found that they weren’t taking clients at this time either.

At this point, I still wanted to give him this gift and I knew that having it printed at a Black-owned business would mean a lot to him. But, I was thinking it might be a good idea to start broadening my horizons about who completed the job and get more realistic about the time frame of when I could get it done-especially if I wanted it in time for his birthday. While I was still looking for a professional printer, I started practicing in case I needed to learn how to quickly make it myself with an instructor from Youtube University.

Then, to my surprise, a local, Black-owned company I had reached out to responded in an email this morning! They even said they’d be able to print the gradient design! I’m so excited y’all! They asked if I wanted the design printed on a white t-shirt.

Yup!

But, I also asked about a hoodie and maybe another color or two. We’ll see!

In the beginning, my main concerns were quality and turnaround time…and how much of a trade-off on quality I’d have to deal with if I wanted the turn-around so quickly. Toward the middle, it was more like, could I even get this accomplished?! Now, I’m just waiting for a quote!

This business has some great reviews and I can’t wait to share their name with you when I get the final products in my hands. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with this…

When was the last time you supported a local, Black-owned business?