By ALEEIA ABRAHAM //
August is Black Business Month, an initiative founded to spotlight Black-owned businesses and their invaluable contributions to local economies.
But as the month comes to an end, it is crucial that our friends and neighbors of all backgrounds continue to discover and patronize Black businesses and celebrate Black entrepreneurship. For my community, this is our daily work.
In 2019, I founded the BlaQue Resource Network to address the multifaceted socioeconomic problems facing the Black community living and working in Queens, and Queens natives living on Long Island and around the Empire State. We needed a hub to be able to organize and support one another.
Facebook Groups was the best tool to build that community and inspire engagement. We created a space for Black people to share resources and to connect with other local, Black-owned businesses.
Since then, the group has expanded throughout the New York metropolitan area and has more than 28,000 members. It has become an invaluable resource for collective action in New York City, on Long Island and across the state.
Whether you are searching for Black-owned restaurants, boutiques, law offices or plumbers, we built a network that connects people digitally and in person. Spotlighting these local firms on our Facebook Group develops new customer relationships and drives traffic to businesses’ webstores and Instagram profiles. Through these additional online avenues, people can make direct purchases, engage with a business’ content, and branch out their networks.
Aleeia Abraham: Closing the gap.
Our digital assets are also key drivers of attendance at our in-person events. For instance, we partner with Sovereign Markets to showcase Black vendors at a night market located at the Laurelton Long Island Rail Road Station.
Despite progress in recent years, Black entrepreneurs continue to face significant barriers. And the COVID-19 crisis was especially devastating for Black businesses.
But the community remained resilient in the face of a severe economic downturn. Small businesses across the state, from Buffalo to Montauk, were forced to pivot their operations online to adapt to pandemic-era policies.
Unfortunately, many minority-owned businesses were left out of small business relief-loan programs, exacerbating the historical disparities that create obstacles for Black business owners.
When the pandemic hit, the BlaQue Resource Network leveraged our Facebook following more than ever. We launched a food-share initiative and distributed 1,000 boxes of fresh produce over the course of 2020. The success of this program brought fresh faces into our community.
And in the summer of 2020, as demonstrations erupted throughout the country following the murder of George Floyd, we organized and activated the community to join marches in our neighborhoods and demand justice. On Facebook Live, I livestreamed to the group the first video of a police captain kneeling in solidarity with protestors.
Taking a stand: Videos of NYPD officers kneeling with George Floyd protestors made national headlines.
This was the catalyst for an even stronger network and international recognition – our Facebook livestream was picked up by news outlets around the world.
At the time, I told CNN that we had a long way to go on the path to justice: “It’s a nice start, but it’s nowhere near enough.”
The reality is, backing Black-owned businesses is crucial to closing the wealth gap and combatting generational economic disparities. It creates more opportunities for establishing long-term wealth and revitalizing local economies. When small businesses flourish, so do the communities where they’re located – creating jobs, inspiring new business creation, attracting investors who infuse new resources into the ecosystem.
For us, every month must be Black Business Month. We’re supporting each other and hope to see people of all backgrounds from around the state continue to support our communities – online and in person.
Aleeia Abraham is the founder of the BlaQue Resource Network.
