Courtesy of Nancy Korsah
Nancy Korsah
Founder of Minneapolis-based Black Business Enterprises (BBE) Nancy Korsah doesn't mince words in describing the support for Black businesses in the long months after George Floyd's murder. "Ninety-two percent of our allies abandoned us. They were there when it was hot, but well… 'We did our part,'" she says.
Other local business owners are more optimistic, but Korsah's experience hints that the wave of support that flooded the country may have dried up in some places.
It's about the long term
In the weeks immediately after Floyd's death, an outpouring of support for Black-owned businesses appeared, helping some shops see 4,400% year-over-year increases. Twenty-five retailers signed the 15% Pledge, an audited program which has the goal to add more Black-made products to store shelves. Yelp saw a 12,000% increase in searches for Black-owned businesses in June 2020 (which declined to 480% this March), and a poll of 400 Black business owners found that 75% had business increase from at least June to August 2020, according to the National Black Chamber of Commerce and Groupon.
It was a flip of the script. From February to April 2020, 41% of Black-owned businesses in the U.S. had closed while only 17% of white-owned businesses did, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
For Korsah's business, which provides resources, connection, and training to 3.3 million Black business owners across the country, allyship ended up being a mixed bag of earnest help, savior complexes, and offers that did more harm than good.
Korsah points to Tracy Call from Media Bridge as an example of a true ally. Call meets with Korsah every week, either in person or on the phone, to talk about what Korsah is working on and what she might be able to help with. She has made websites for multiple of the business members of BBE (including BBE's own site), helped members apply for advertising grants, and raised $2,500 for additional small business BBE grants in lieu of receiving any Christmas presents. True allyship, Korsah stresses, is being present and having an ongoing conversation.
Courtesy of Kobi Co.
Kobi Co.
Supporting each other
Like Korsah, Kobi Gregory, founder of candle and aroma company Kobi Co., knows allyship is more than money. Unlike Korsah, she's much more optimistic about the current support levels. Her own sales saw an increase in her #BlackLivesMatter candle, replacing her previous No. 1 seller #Chillaxin for a few months, but most of the support she talks about is less tangible.
"Especially after the Chauvin trial, things have gotten better than ever and grown even bigger than ever," she says, referring to both support for Black-owned businesses and for social justice causes in general. "I can definitely see why some may have seen Black Lives Matter as a trend, but honestly for me and for the people I surround myself with, it has never been a trend, and it will always be Black Lives Matter."
The recent De LaSalle high school grad started her business to have funds for college, and you can find her goods in stores like MinnyRow, her own kiosk at Ridgedale, and at pop-up market Black Business Is Beautiful, which was started as a direct response to Floyd's death by Janet Johanson, CEO of BevSource and The Lab.
Black Business Is Beautiful's first event was September 2020 with about 30 vendors and a few hundred visitors. Every month it has grown, and this past May, it featured around 80 vendors, including favorites Inner Peace Fragrance, Human of Color Haircare Products, and Vanlice Lemonade. Although the market's main purpose is to spotlight Black businesses, another consequence is that it has become a center for Black entrepreneurs to connect with each other and be their own allies if no one else is.
Gregory had already experienced support from entrepreneurial relatives and family friends when she started her business, but at the market, she got to meet even more people walking the same path and willing to offer help. "Honestly, it feels like we're a close knit business family," she says. "We all just kind of help each other out with connections and different opportunities we've received, and from there on, you have more opportunities for growth which form their own opportunities. It's a cool cycle."
Courtesy of Lovejoy's
Charles Lovejoy
The start of a culture shift
Charles Lovejoy of Lovejoy's Bloody Mary mix (and other goods) can also be found at Black Business Is Beautiful, but chances are you've experienced his Bloody Mary mix at eateries like Sweeney's Saloon or seen it stocked at spots like Surdyk's. After the pandemic hit, Lovejoy's bartending gig dried up, so he figured he would focus more on peddling his wares.
But then Floyd died. "It blew everything up. It was a disturbing time and obviously a depressing time, and I think it just lifted the veil of what has always been there. At the same time, the positive thing to come out of that was that there was awareness," he says.
"I don't know if that's all to be believed or if it's all lip service," he adds. "But I think what really did it for me was the community. The community here in the Twin Cities showing out and showing up and coming together, not only to support Black businesses but to support each other."
Lovejoy saw a slight increase in online sales and some local attention. However, some of the new customers were offset by old ones who left because they thought he was too outspoken about police abuse and racial justice. Still, in his mind, support hasn't waned. He says now people are just trying to find their lane, whether it's ongoing donations, intentional buying, offered services, or something else. "I feel like we've turned a corner and are not going to go back. You can't ignore it anymore," he says.
Every Black business person's experience has been different since May 25, 2020, and business boom or not, Korsah wants people to remember the impact Floyd's murder has had on Black people's mental and emotional health. Trauma was there before Floyd's death, and it will be there after, and as such, people need to recognize that one-time donations, while nice, aren't the final answer.
"I'm glad that [Floyd's murder] woke some people up—it was unfortunate that that had to happen—but I want it to be bigger. It shouldn't just be that one event," she says. "With the systemic horror we go through, what is going to be the new lifestyle that is also going to support Black people, and also going to educate the people that are around me to be better?"
