Phillip Ashley Chocolates — and e-commerce purchases from WeBuyBlack.com are great but what about the everyday opportunities to buy Black that you are missing out on, which you’ve never thought about. Over the past two years, I’ve become more intentional to open my eyes and as I’ve done so, buying Black has become normal and less challenging.
I relocated to Chicago several months ago from DC. On the drive from DC, my check engine light came on and naturally, I looked for a repair shop. I knew the names Midas and Meineke so I Googled them. All of a sudden it occurred to me that there must surely be a Black owned repair shop somewhere in all of this city! Car repairs are so routine but I had never thought to seek out a Black owned shop. I asked friends and family, “Do you know of any Black owned repair shops?” I received a bunch of “no’s.” I had a few “shade tree” mechanics referred to me but I didn’t want that. I wanted a legit (and insured) repair shop. My cousin finally remembered a guy who’d worked for GM for years before starting his own shop and I went to him. I knew I had the right guy when he declined to do a certain repair because he said it was absolutely unnecessary. He turned down money in the name of honesty. I have a new mechanic.
My point in telling that story is not that everyone should find a Black owned car repair shop (although I hope you do). Rather, I’m simply illustrating how an everyday need turned into an opportunity to buy Black — but it was an opportunity that I almost passed up without thought. How many times during a day do you encounter random needs without pausing to give thought to how it might turn into an opportunity to buy Black? How often do you, without even thinking about it, go for what you know and not look for a chance to grow? Opportunities are literally everywhere, if we care to seek them out.
Finding a Black owned car repair shop was not easy. It took me asking around in my network. It took some internet searching. It took looking through some Yelp reviews and yes, it delayed my repair by at least a week while I was searching. Buying Black isn’t always easy and sometimes it can even feel tedious. But if racism is and has been as bad as we claim, why would we not inconvenience ourselves a bit to avoid investing in it? If white supremacy has been as damaging as we ask others to believe, how can we rest knowing that our spending is continuing to uphold it?
Everyday we confront needs and wants that require us to spend money. It’s so easy to simply go about doing what we always have without thought. I could have easily pulled up a Meineke and gotten my car repaired but I chose to stop, think and go in a different direction. We can all do the same any number of times each day. If racism has truly been that bad to us then we’ll choose to stop investing in the system that sustains it. The choice is yours but just know this — no one can oppress you unless you give them the money to do so.
]]>
About Post Author
