2020 changed a lot. It made the world wake up to a message people of color have been trying to get across for years. Until it was captured on a phone in a video that could not be denied. And so many of us began untangling the messages we’d learned in our past and accepting our part in systemic racism. Despite the average white family in America earning TEN TIMES more than the average black family, supporting BIPOC businesses is one way of lifting up those who have overcome so much.
Here you can find BIPOC-owned businesses and organizations you can support. We’ve spotlighted many in our podcast episodes and the list keeps growing. Next time you need to purchase a gift for a loved one (or yourself!), we encourage you to support one of these businesses.
- PANTRY & KITCHEN
- Sol Cacao – Harlem Craft single origin chocolate bars. Committed to environmental and ethical social responsibilities.
- Uncle Eddie’s Vegan Cookies organic and fairly traded ingredients with environmentally friendly packaging.
- The Canadian African Vegan recipes for living a sustainable life.
- Tea Squares snack bites that deliver mental energy and clarity from naturally occuring caffeine.
- Trade Street Vegan Jam small batch jams with creative flavor combinations.
- Zach & Zoe Sweet Bee Farm Honey Beekeeping family
BABY & KIDS
- BrightChild Learning Resources – for teaching kids at home
- Cocoa Dotz – blankets for baby and mama that can be used for nursing, naps, stroller walks and everything else in between.
- HarperIman Dolls – Create dolls that reinforce to children of color how important, smart, beautiful, talented, and creative they are.
- Puzzle Huddle – Children’s jigsaw puzzles featuring diverse characters
BATH & BODY
- *Alaffia The goal is to alleviate poverty and encourage gender equality. All of Alaffia’s projects empower Togolese communities to provide their skills and knowledge to the rest of the world and rise out of poverty.
COFFEE & TEA
- Adjourn Teahouse Artisanal loose leaf tea company that offers beautifully unique, superior quality, hand blended teas that are sustainably sourced from around the world.
- *Blk & Bold– Coffee and teas. BLK & Bold pledges 5% of its profits to initiatives aligned to sustaining youth programming, enhancing workforce development, and eradicating youth homelessness.
- Cxffee Black is primarily an entrepreneurial venture with specific social implications, started by Bartholomew Jones and Renata Henderson to reclaim the black history of coffee and remain its black future. The goal is to generate a profit from apparel and events and consultations and then use those funds to provide opportunities for people of origin to create and generate inspiring work.
- Dope Coffee shows the world that premium coffee and Black culture go hand in hand. They create special products inspired by Black culture for the culture, but everyone is invited to the party.
- Roots Holistic Tea building community around holistic & mindful living. Whether it’s through Roots Tea Blends, or through instructional mindfulness, meditation & movement classes.
- Berry Bissap Spiced Hibiscus Tea All natural West African spiced hibiscus tea.
- Me & The Bees Lemonade Mikaila started her lemonade company using honey when she was only four years old. Now, 10 year later, her company keeps growing and she just published a book.
- *Teas with Meaning is committed to providing organic loose leaf tea blends and authentic tea experiences. Developed in the heart of Oakland by educator and tea connoisseur, Kamilah Mitchell, a brain tumor survivor and cancer warrior.
APPAREL
- * GoBeMore apparel that inspires people to commit to their dreams
- * WhitePaws Run Mitts Runmitts, facemitts, and gaiters.
- Elevate Activewear Affordable Athleisure & Activewear!
- Tawa Thread Co. Hand and screen printed textiles inspired by the land we love to wander. Part of proceeds for BIPOC & LGBTQIA+ initiatives in outdoor spaces.
- TPMOCS beautifully handcrafted Native American moccasins for kids.
- Totem Design House Indiginous owned eco-friendly women and men’s apparel, home decor, and jewelry.
HOME AND ART
- Black Pepper focuses on creating globally-inspired, one-of-a-kind handcrafted pieces that include wearable ceramic art, home decor, paper goods, and apparel.
- Trickster Company is an indigenous owned design shop founded by siblings Rico and Crystal Worl with the goal of promoting innovative indigenous design through apparel, home goods, stationary, and more.
- Jitterbug Art Beautiful Illustrations and paintings that are mostly nature themed
- Kintsugi Candle Co. candles that celebrate the realness and resiliency of your authentic self.
- Maktub Studio – all natural soy and vegan candles with vessels that can be repurposed after use.
- Harriett’s Bookshop via Bookshop – Harriett’s Bookshop, named for historical heroine Harriett Tubman, celebrates women authors, women artists, and women activists.
WELLNESS
- Blk & Grn all-natural marketplace by all Black artisans.
- Golde Superfoods health, skin, and beauty products made with superfoods.
- VeganSmart Protein Powder “Why do people who need quality products have the least access to them?” Partnering with fitness and diet expert John Lewis, they learned the best way to prevent obesity, pre-diabetes and heart disease is a plant-based diet. Together, they created VeganSmart.
- The Underbelly Yoga studio you can access from your phone.
- City Fit Girls Provide a strength club online, that has simple, efficient and effective workouts for just $10 a month.
- Run Grl A digital media and event platform for Black women that uses running as a vehicle to impact wellness by curating content and events. They share voices and stories that change the existing narrative on what it means to be a runner.
- * Heal Haus a safe space where healing is accessible, inclusive, and community oriented. They strongly believe that wellness does not have to look or feel one certain way; that you can be a multifaceted person and still be committed to your personal evolution. Plenty of virtual yoga,meditation, tele therapy and more.
ORGANIZATIONS TO SUPPORT
- Solar Sister trains and supports women to deliver clean energy directly to homes in rural African communities.
- Team Onyx is the first all-Black team in expedition racing. They are a mix of gay and straigh athletes ranging from their 20s to 50s and represent the best qualities and strengths that come from diversity.
Supporting BIPOC businesses is great, and much appreciated, but what if you are just beginning your antiracist journey, and you are still trying to understand what systemic racism is, or how you can even begin to have conversations about it. Below is a list of resources we’ve used to increase our knowledge. These are good places to start:
READ THESE BOOKS
- How To Be An Anti Racist by Ibram X Kendi
- I’m Still Here by Austin Channing Brown
- Waking Up White by Debby Irving (if you are a white woman, I would start here)
- White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
- So You Want To Talk About Race? by Ijeoma Oluo
- Between The World And Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
- Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? by Beverly Daniel Tatum
- Uncomfortable Conversations with A Black Man by Emmanuel Acho
WATCH THESE VIDEOS
- Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man with Emmanuel Acho
- Trevor Noah on police brutality
- A Conversation with Oprah – the (American) White World
WATCH THESE DOCUMENTARIES
- 13th
- Disclosure (this is about the trans community, but still links in)
- Black, White, and Us
- Just Mercy
- Teach Us All
LISTEN TO THESE PODCASTS
- Alison Desir on Keeping Track
- Laverne Cox on Unlocking Us
- Austin Channing Brown on Unlocking Us
- Ibram X Kendi on Unlocking Us (can you tell I love Brene Brown yet?)
- Ibram X Kendi on Armchair Expert
- Decoding Disrupters: Race Forward on Finding Mastery
WATCH THESE MOVIES WITH A BLACK LEAD ROLE
- The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
- When They See Us
- Self Made : Inspired By the Life of Madam CJ Walker
- Jingle Jangle (Christmas)
READ THESE BOOKS TO YOUR KIDS
- Anti Racist Baby by Ibram X Kendi
- I am Enough by Grace Byers
- Sulwe by Lupita Nyong’o
- Hair Love by Matthew A Cherry
- I Promise by LeBron James and Nina Mata
- Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Pena
- All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold
- The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson