[dropcap][/dropcap]Black Lives Matter. In the wake of such sadness, division, and upheaval, I am completely devastated by the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Ahmaud Arbery, Dreasjon Reed, and so many others. I stand in solidarity with the Black community, and hope that this post serves as a helpful and important resource to further antiracism in our communities.

In addition to donating to organizations combating racial injustice, I also urge you to consider patronizing more Black-owned businesses: chefs, makers, retailers, and activists—many of whom have also suffered significant losses due to the pandemic.

Here is a list of individual businesses in various cities across the nation, including a veteran’s guide to starting a small business, that needs support now and always.

If there are resources not listed that you feel should be included, please add them to the comments below, and I will update this post accordingly!

 

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Organizations That Support Black Entrepreneurs

 

• Support Black Owned. A blog and directory of Black-owned businesses across the world.
• Food Education Fund. A job training and entrepreneurship program to empower and prepare Black high-school school students for careers in the food industry.
• Black Girl Ventures. An organization that creates access to much-needed capital for Black and Brown female business owners.
• Code Fever Miami is shifting the way Black communities engage with and create value within the innovation and tech sectors. Another organization working towards inclusion in the coding community is Black Girls Code.
• Black and Brown Founders provides community, education, and access to Black and Latinx entrepreneurs with otherwise modest resources. Black Female Founders is another that provides critical resources and information to help Black female founders grow.
• Okra Academy via The Okra Project trains Black Trans people kitchen basics and recipes to enrich their own culinary lives, as well as prepare them to work as chefs themselves. The Okra Project also provides home-cooked meals for the vulnerable Black Trans community.
• Uniquely You is an annual summit geared towards the empowerment of young Black teens.
• Accion. A nationwide nonprofit lending network that bolsters and supports small businesses.

 

For further explorative education on other Black entrepreneurship programs and initiatives, you can find a list here.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B2R1AMbFpB7/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

 

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Black-Owned Businesses By City

 

If your city is not listed, explore the comprehensive directory on Black Owned, where you can search by city and industry to connect with businesses in your neighborhood and leave reviews to boost their visibility.

The team at Cherry Bombe also put out this extensive list spotlighting Black women and their businesses and projects.

 

Atlanta

• A list of over 100 Black-owned businesses in Atlanta, via Atlanta Beltline Hates You.
• Here are some of the best Black-owned restaurants from Atlanta Eats.

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CA8RtbCp-Mo/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

 

Austin

All of the shops and restaurants to support in Austin’s communities, via Austin Monthly.

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The Bay Area

• Here is a list of over 200 restaurants in the Bay Area, from the San Francisco Chronicle‘s restaurant critic, Soleil Ho.

Chicago

• Black People Eats. A comprehensive directory of Black-owned Chicago restaurants that also includes this take-out and delivery guide.
• A guide to 24 restaurants on Chicago’s North Side .
• Black Owned Chicago. A directory to discover and connect with great businesses in local neighborhoods.

DC

• A list of black-owned restaurants still open in the DMV, via Black food writer and advocate Anela Malik’s insightful blog.
• Busboys and Poets is a multi-location “community gathering place for artists, activists, writers, thinkers and dreamers.” You can support them at this time by ordering from the full lunch and dinner menu available online.

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Denver

• A list via 303 Magazine that hopes to include every single Black-owned business in the city limits of Denver, including, but not limited to, food, retail, and wellness.

Houston

• A list of Black-owned business, particularly restaurants in Houston listed from local news outlet.
• Black-owned businesses and services with this colossal directory from local site Houston Buy Black.
• Locally small business with reasonable pricing listed here.
• Visit Houston provides recommended places to visit while in Houston. Many of the popular Black-owned restaurants are listed along with websites and further details.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CBA6CUgAPo9/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Los Angeles

• Kat Hong, an editorial assistant at The Infatuation, has compiled an extensive Google Sheet that’s very helpfully sorted alphabetically by neighborhood, which means you should be able to find at least one option near you.
• Here is another list of 85 Black-owned food businesses from the L.A. Times.

Louisville

• Here are some incredible black-owned restaurants and food businesses in Louisville that come recommended by Yelp’s Louisville member squad.

Minnesota

• Here is mspmag.com‘s directory of businesses you can support in the Twin Cities, at the epicenter of the protests. This list from citypages.com is focused on restaurants and bars.

New Jersey

• Community member Danielle Davis came through with this list of Black-owned eateries compiled by Justin Oh.

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NYC

• A comprehensive, and growing, list of nearly 200 restaurants in the city assembled by Bon Appetit‘s associate social media director Rachel Karten and research director Joseph Hernandez, and The New Yorker‘s food critic Hannah Goldfield—all organized by neighborhood.
• Black Owned Brooklyn. A resource aimed at making it easier for you to discover local Black-owned businesses as well documenting Black life in the borough.

Portland

• A crowd-sourced directory of Black-owned businesses, and a second one that’s focused on just restaurants.

Seattle

• Here’s a great map of restaurants in Seattle shared by community member Urban Homemade.

 

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Black-Owned Restaurants Supporting Protestors

 

Here is a special shout-out to restaurants, already hit hard by COVID-19, that are choosing to stay open and nourish protestors with food, supplies, and kind words:

• Pimento Kitchen in Minnesota.

• Black Earth Farms in Oakland.

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CA17IQShhtn/?utm_source=ig_embed

• Minnie Bell’s Soul Movement in Oakland. Owner and chef Fernay McPherson shares her experiences as a Black business owner amid nationwide protests here.
• Sol Sips and Tamra Teahouse in Brooklyn.

 

Be the reason someone believes in the goodness of people.

 

New updates 2021

Minority-Owned Homes

According to a recent study, minority-owned homes are undervalued by an average of nearly $50,000 during the appraisal process in the US. Financial experts from Bankrate created a guide to explain the unfortunate realities of racism and redlining in real estate, the home appraisal gap, and how to best overcome this reality. Read the indebt article from Bankrate written by Zach Wichter. 

 

A veteran’s guide to starting a small business

They created a guide that assists veterans through the entire process of starting their own small business. Their guide covers several financing options that are available for building business credit, while providing various business development programs specifically for women and service-disabled veterans. Read more.