BUY BLACK!!

by Anthony R. Green

Today is the birthday of the late Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, an incredibly gifted composer whose music stretched across genres, and whose international career also included performing as a pianist and conducting. His music, along with the music of numerous other talented Black composers, is championed by Castle of our Skins in our effort to celebrate Black artistry through music. This celebration, though, would not be complete without supporting Black efforts in other sectors, such as skin care, culinary arts, visual arts, production, management, etc ... In the past, Castle of our Skins has had BIBA Blog posts and events that shared the work of other Black creatives and businesses. With the recent attention towards supporting the various BIPOC (Black, indigenous, people-of-color) communities in the US, the next BIBA Blog posts will focus on why and how YOU - our wonderful readers - can BUY BLACK!!!

photo source: connect the dots PR - Vanessa's Blog

During the 1960s, at the height of the Civil Rights Movement, there were many calls for people, especially Black people, to support each other financially as well as idealistically. A well-known picture elucidates this idea rather succinctly: it is of a man holding a protest sign that reads "Do not buy where you will not be hired." While such overt racism may have dwindled since then, a quick look at "diversity" within organizations and stores can be a quick indicator of the covert racism that may be at play in hiring tactics across the country and the world. Furthermore, the covert racism is directly related to the systemic racism that is responsible for today's gross social, educational, health-related, judicial, and economic inequities. For all of you Instagram users, check out THIS infographic that quickly and creatively articulates systemic racism's effect on the Black community. When it comes to economics, "white families hold 90% of national wealth, while Black families hold 2.6% of it" (despite making up 20% of the population). Furthermore, "for every $100 earned by white families, Black families earn $57.30." And lastly, "since the 2008 recession, the wealth gap has increased." (Sources)

With that stated, the decision to start redistributing wealth towards Black and BIPOC businesses is a no-brainer, and there are many websites that can help you get started. A simple search for "buy Black" yields NUMEROUS links to articles, blogs, online stores, and websites with links to help anyone BUY BLACK! WeBuyBlack.com in particular has been increasing its number of vendors, products, and sales recently. Additionally, for our Boston (local) readers, Boston.com has been featuring articles about Black-owned businesses, particularly restaurants, that could use some support. HERE is an article, and HERE is another one. 

NEXT WEEK'S BLOG WILL HIGHLIGHT SOME OF COOS's FAVORITE BOSTON ARTISTS AND CREATIVES! Be sure to check back here next Sunday, and keep up with COOS's digital season that includes the Black Composer Miniature Challenge, the Kid's Korner, and the Poetry Night Cap! ... and thank YOU for your support!