Black Lives Matter calling for support for Black-owned businesses, but also boycott of white businesses
HOUSTON - December 25 is quickly approaching. As you pick up the last of your presents, some are asking you to consider buying from black-owned businesses.
"It would be amazing if that can be done for me and a lot of business owners I know," says Karen Amos.
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It’s been a tough nearly two years for Amos. Since the pandemic hit, her Karen’s Make Ready Services cleaning company and Karen’s Kleaner cleaning products have not sold like they used to.
So this business owner, who’s been open for 13 years now, is glad to hear Black Lives Matter is asking everyone to support black-owned businesses from Black Friday through January 1, 2022.
"We really need your help and support to get through this pandemic. I really don’t want to shut my doors, but it’s not looking too great," Amos says.
The campaign is called Dreaming of a Black Christmas and this is the part some people are having trouble with. Black Lives Matter is asking customers to only utilize Black-owned businesses during that time frame.
"I would encourage people to just shop local in general. Shop the mom-and-pop shops. There are plenty of Black-owned businesses to support in Sunnyside alone, where I live," said Ashton Woods with Houston Black Lives Matter.
Woods says support is only part of the campaign. He says the group is also asking customers to boycott white businesses through the first of the year that may not be promoting social and racial equity.
"You can’t just make a commercial. You have to do the work. You have to come into the communities and do what we can’t get the city governments to do," says Woods.
Meantime, small business owners like Karen Amos, are hoping this will be an opportunity to attract new customers.
"If you Google Karen’s Make Ready Services and look at my reviews, they speak for themselves. They talk about my cleaner and how fresh their homes smell," said Amos.
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Karen’s Kleaner comes in peppermint, lavender, lemon, eucalyptus, and several other scents.
"It kills germs and it smells really good."
Amos says several of her friends and Black businesses she’s been a longtime supporter of have shut down during the pandemic, and she doesn’t want the same to happen to her. You can find Karen’s services and her cleaner at https://k4makereadyservice.com.
This is actually the seventh year for Black Lives Matter to run this campaign, but some say it goes too far to ask people to boycott white-owned businesses. BLM’s corporate donors like Airbnb, Amazon, Intel, and Microsoft have not commented on the boycott request.