This February, Local Return joins many partners around the U.S. to support Black-owned businesses. Let’s inspire our communities to help build Black wealth and celebrate the rich culture and diversity that make up our economy and communities.
This Shop Black-Owned Campaign is part of AMIBA’s Shop Indie Local Initiative.
Here are some things you can do:
Choose Black-owned businesses.
Here are just a few of Rhode Island’s Black-owned businesses that have been called out by friends of Local Return:
- 10 Rocks, Pawtucket
- Bami Farm, Johnston and pop-ups
- Black Beans PVD, Providence (soon to move to an expanded location at 404 Broad Street in Providence, the Southside Community Land Trust’s new Farm-to-Market Center)
- The Black Leaf Tea & Culture Shop, pop-up and online
- Blaze Smith Hill, Providence
- Brittanny Taylor, photography, yoga, coaching and more
- The District, Providence
- D’s Spot, Pawtucket (and soon to open a spinoff at 404 Broad Street in Providence)
- Geri’s Bluffing Boutique, Woonsocket and online
- Humming Bird, Newport
- Incred-A-Bowl, East Providence
- Island House, Providence
- JA Patty, Pawtucket and food truck
- Kin Southern Table + Bar, Providence
- Lu’s Mini Mart, Pawtucket, and Afrique D’Lounge, Providence (owners soon to open West African Super Store at 404 Broad Street in Providence)
- Maxine Baked, online and special events
- Mixed Magic Theatre, North Providence
- Sarcastic Sweets, food truck
- Soulita, Providence, online, and at local stores
- Stack House, Kingston, RI
- The Village, Pawtucket, Providence, Warwick
Let us know who else we should add to the list!
Ask your favorite locally owned businesses if they carry products made or grown by Black-owned businesses.
Encourage retailers you patronize to take the Fifteen Percent Pledge, dedicating 15% of their shelf space to Black-owned brands. (Black people make up 15% of the population in the United States.)
Amplify the “Shop Black-Owned” message in February.
Use #ShopBlackOwned on social media, and share a message with your family and friends.
Support organizations that support Black-owned businesses, like the Rhode Island Black Business Association and African Alliance of Rhode Island.
Both organizations are nonprofits that are sustained by charitable contributions. RIBBA is hosting a State of Black Businesses in Rhode Island Legislative Breakfast on Friday, February 24.
Together, we can build stronger local economies that are diverse, inclusive, and equitable.