Lily and DivaLenore
Lily and DivaLenore just launched BrightenMi about a month ago and they are already facing the impediment confronted by most black owned businesses.
The pair took to social media to raise the following question: Why don't blacks support black business?
"Tons of white people create whitening skincare products to treat skin problems.Nobody complains.You all praise and promote their stuff for free.
Because ?#?BrightenMi? was created by two young AFRICAN immigrants,you all go on a bashing rampage", they wrote.
History books can confirm how long black people have been in competition with one another.
Trickling down from generation to generation, black people seem to still embody this desire to compete and tear one another down.
Could this be why black people don’t support black businesses as pointed out by BrightenMi bosses?
Statistics show that African Americans are the number one consumers in the United States, spending more than $1 trillion dollars a year on goods and services.
A small amount of those funds are used to support Black-owned businesses. In the 2014 State of Black America Report, the article, Facts vs Fiction: Buying Black As An Economic Strategy, revealed that the black dollar only lasts six hours in its community before going out into the world.
In other communities, Asian, White, and Hispanic, their dollar lasts in their community 7 to 28 days before it goes out into the world. This means that African Americans spend their monies outside of their community with non-Black-owned businesses, thus not supporting or empowering their community.
Kinnaka's Blog conducted a survey on why Blacks have issues with buying black. The following are the top three reasons given by blacks who don't buy black:
1) Customer Service: Many respondents feel that the owners and or employees are not welcoming or attentive to customers.
2) Availability of Products/Goods: Some respondents feel that the products and or goods that they are seeking are not always offered or available, causing them to shop with that business only once.
3) Prices/Over Charging: Respondents expressed that in some cases the products or goods were overpriced, forcing them to shop elsewhere where they felt the products were affordable.
Could this be true or have black people just been brain washed to think "the white man's ice is colder"?
