Optimistic Hope: Shop Black Week Organizers Believe All Americans Will Respond to its SOS Call
ATLANTA, Nov. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- For any person alive during this time, 2020 has been an extraordinarily unforgettable year. Revelations about the historical inequities and disparities of Black Americans also became evident to the entire world in 2020. One major disparity that was highlighted is the systemic economic inequities. So as jobless numbers continue to increase for Black Americans and as more and more Black-owned businesses continue to close as the COVID-19 pandemic numbers increase, there appears to be a correlation to the growing disparity in income and wealth for Black households. Therefore, Shop Black Week (SBW) organizers are sending out an SOS to all Americans to participate in the week-long campaign. "If only a small percentage of Americans participated by supporting a Black-owned business during SBW, the support could have an extreme impact on tens of thousands of Black households, and the economic help could be astronomically felt for months to come," says Carla Tillman, PhD, SBW's National Director.
The SBW campaign encourages every American to make at least one purchase from a Black-owned business from November 20-27th as well as throughout the holiday season. With the success of the SBW campaign last year, early interest from supporters, copycat initiatives, and the SBW website's daily organic traffic, SBW organizers predict that millions of Americans of all backgrounds will participate, "but we understand that if all Americans do not heed the SOS call, 2020 could be the year where there is a significant downward spiral in Black economics," says Tillman. However, if only 15-20% of Black adults spent at least $50 with Black-owned businesses, $400M is projected to be circulated within the Black community, and if even a smaller percentage of Americans from all representative groups participates, this projected amount could more than double.
Many high-profile celebrities, athletes, and influencers have publicly indicated that they understand these historical inequities and disparities of Black Americans and have taken on a tremendous personal responsibility to do something to shift the narrative about these issues, so hopefully Black and non-Black influencers will support SBW too. "We are optimistic and believe that the heightened awareness of the campaign is slated to be well-received and gain massive support and partnership," says Aysha Jackson, SBW's Campaign Coordinator.
Based on the previous year's numbers, there should be hundreds of thousands of visitors to the SBW website, and those visiting will be able to find Black-owned businesses offering unique products and services. Everyone making a purchase from a Black-owned business during SBW November 20-27th should #shopblackweek on all social media platforms and let everyone know about any purchases including business names, locations, dates and photos. All interested businesses should register and become qualified to be listed in the SBW Directory at shopblackweek.org.
Media Inquiries - Latoya Meshell, (833) 991-0911 or [email protected]. Visit https://www.shopblackweek.org/media-kit.
SOURCE Shop Black Week Coalition
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