Why I Buy Black

Hi! I’m Jamie, an adopted Atlantan, licensed attorney, and social advocate. I’m a lover of books, tea, and anything to do with a planner.

I love God and people, especially the young ones, and I live to serve my communities in the ways they need it most. During the day, I work to help families find stability, and I love to explore and support Black-owned businesses in my free time.

My dream is to make a difference to someone, somewhere. And I’m ABSOLUTELY rooting for everybody Black (*Issa Rae voice*).

To be honest, I’m not sure when or why I started making a conscious decision to support Black-owned businesses. I probably saw something cute online, bought it, and then looked into the company after the fact to be pleasantly surprised it was Black-owned.

Since 2014, buying Black has become a much more intentional journey. When I was a student in St. Louis, MO and Michael Brown was killed, I felt helpless. I’m not one to be marching in the streets (although I celebrate those who are), so I dedicated my academic projects that year to police brutality or race relations or anything that was somehow connected. But it wasn’t enough. I saw on Facebook that year that people were calling to #BlackoutBlackFriday. At that point, I decided to stop shopping on Black Friday, or if it was really that serious, to only support Black-owned businesses on that day.

I know there are a lot of people who will argue that buying Black doesn’t make a difference, and I’m not an economist, so I really couldn’t tell you otherwise. What I do know is that I believe that supporting our people will make a difference. I believe that buying from our own allows us to shape the future. I believe that encouraging Black businesses shows our children that they can own their own businesses too.

I also believe that there are people who think like me. I believe there are people who want to support Black-owned businesses, big and small, but don’t know where to go or how to start. I wanted to change that.

Welcome to Black Girl Buying!