After watching the first episode of “Trigger Warning - Killer Mike”, it definitely made me really think about things in a new way. I know I have not been the biggest advocate for supporting black businesses because my own experiences have not been the greatest but this doc-series really has changed my perspective.
For those of you who have not seen or heard about, I suggest you watch it. I have not watched the entire series, but what I’ve seen so far has been inspirational and inspired me to challenge my thinking and was something I wanted to write about. Just to give some context, the first episode was about his 3-day journey of attempting to live black. Meaning, he could only stay at places that were black-owned, eat food that was from a black farm and cooked at a black establishment or received services from black people. During his travel to Athens, GA he had to go to extreme measures to get there and find housing. From not having food to eat or cook because appliances were not made by black people. Him having to sleep on park benches because there were no hotels that were black-owned. His journey really displayed a lack of black-owned businesses.
He mentioned how segregation, although horrible, was actually better for black people. It forced black people to go to black doctors, go to black restaurants, shop at our stores, and support each other whether we wanted to or not. That really gave me a perspective that I honestly had never even considered. That by being forced to shop within your own community actually helped your community. During the episode, he mentioned how there was a book commonly used by black people in the mid-1900s called "The Negro Motorist Green-Book" (commonly known as the Green Book), that guided a black person journey from state to state that informed them of where they can shop, stay, and visit that was black-owned. Although this was probably used me because black people could not travel to just anywhere to stay or eat, but the book helped keep the black dollars within the black community - which is something that we should try to do even when we have other options.
At the conclusion of the episode, he mentioned that it would be nearly impossible for us to do what he did for those three days because of the lack of resources we currently have. But he challenged us to create a new meaning to Black Friday. Instead of waiting until Thanksgiving to go buy things we don't need, why do we make a conscious effort to purchase items from a Black-owned establishment on Friday’s. That can be going to a restaurant, buying from a local boutique, or ordering something from a family or friend that you know personally - that is black.
I cannot promise that everything I own or wear will be black-owned, but I will make an effort to keep my money within my community and buy black. A great place to start is weshopblack.com but there also may be local sites or outlets that you can find more info on but this is at least a start.
Love,
Brown Girl
“Black people need to share collective dollars and demand equal representation, and the way you do that is by controlling their own economy and putting money behind candidates” - Killer Mike