Leveraging African American spending power by supporting Black-Owned Businesses

Recent studies point out that African American consumer spending is at an all time high.

While the African American community continues to suffer the highest unemployment, the lowest median family income, and the highest debt, African Americans still outspend all other minority groups, in all categories, spending over $US1 trillion dollars annually on goods and services that are purchased primarily from non Black-owned businesses.

Nike, the global sportswear conglomerate has acknowledged that young African American men are a major driving force behind Nike’s success, both as consumers and as trendsetters.

The African American Consumer: Still Vital, Still Growing 2012 Report states that African Americans are a driving force for popular culture. According to the report, 73 percent of Whites and 67 percent of Hispanics acknowledge that African Americans influence mainstream American culture.

From the corporate community to other ethnic groups, every community is enriched by African American spending except the African American community. Therefore we fully intend to renegotiate the African American community’s financial relationship with corporate America and all others doing business in the African American marketplace. We believe however that a significant starting point is for African Americans to first take control of our own spending.

It is time to turn African American spending into real power. Frederick Douglass was correct when he said “Who you give your money to, is who you give your power to”. We begin to reclaim our power by turning more of our own dollars back into the African American community.

A coalition of Black media owners and Black professional and political organizations we are calling on African Americans in each city to begin immediately to commit to spending US$20.00 a week in a Black owned business. The movement, which is called the Million Dollar Black Spending Power Campaign is being organized by local groups in a number of cities, and even with minimal support, this effort will turn US$1 million dollars a week back into the various African American communities throughout the country.

Read more: Black Star News