Honey Pot’s sales roughly doubled after the backlash began over the company’s Target commercial. On the Monday after, according to the company’s founder, sales were up 40% to 50 higher than normal. The surge is a direct result of Black women joining in solidarity to support Honey Pot, against an onslaught of attacks: Black women closed ranks to defend their sister from “them.” The surge in sales is an indicator of what could be, each day, if only Black consumers were proactive about buying Black and not reactive.
There was a spike in traffic at Black owned coffee shops after two Black men were arrested, for the crime of sitting in a Starbucks. The numbers leveled off, however, once the controversy died down. After Gucci’s “blackface” sweater, there were calls for a boycott and attempts to identify Black designers to support, instead. It is certain that many consumers did not maintain that energy, to the present day. After Philando Castile and Alton Sterling were murdered, Black banks received millions in new deposits but where is the energy today for the #BankBlack movement? Black consumers have shown the ability to bring about windfalls for Black businesses but not to sustain them.
The pattern is clear:
- Black entrepreneurs grind everyday without notice
- Racist attack comes
- Black people get in their feelings and “boycott” or seek alternatives
- Racist apologizes
- Black people feel better about returning their dollars to said racist.
The cycle is insane, especially when the evidence is so clear that Black people actually have the strength to make anyone wealthy, including Black entrepreneurs. Honey Pot’s sales could very well be double what they normally are each week, without the catalyst of a smear campaign. So why not? Why not simply make the conscious decision to empower your own, without being insulted by others? Why not make the simple choice to be in command and control of your community and its fate? Why is an attack necessary to simply practice group economics? That is a question that must be answered quickly because the next attack is sure to come.
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