El-Java Abdul-Qadir, director of the South Side Innovation Center, said the effects of the pandemic, like joblessness, and health risks, brought attention to socio-economic inequalities and forced people to be more conscious of how they spend their dollars.
“People have started to educate themselves around unconscious bias and discrimination. Because of that, people have been empowered to make decisions about where they’re spending their money and how they’re supporting businesses owned by people of color,” said Abdul-Qadir, also a Social Science Ph.D. student at Syracuse University studying urban entrepreneurship and economic development.
In recognition of these inequalities, many private companies and industries went on to make commitments to Black-owned businesses as well as consumers.
Following the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement this summer, Brooks-Rolling said she received a number of calls from patrons looking for businesses of color they could support.
“I think that was a very pivotal moment,” she said. “It was a good start, but we’re interested in a paradigm shift that motivates or encourages non-minority consumers to support minority businesses on a regular basis.”
Karen Loftin, a Syracuse resident, said it’s important for consumers to be conscious of where their money goes.
“That awareness amongst people makes healthier communities, healthier families, healthier business conscious, economic power,” she said. “It brings a lot of culture to the community as well. It allows people to socialize better because they’re not struggling economically.”
Loftin said because communities need to be able to rely on themselves, she advocates for others to support Black-owned businesses.
“I push it for the same reason that I hope every other Black person pushes it,” she said. “I think it’s a product of the long struggle that our people had to go through, and I think it’s important to always remind ourselves that we’re always going to need each other in the community.”
As a way to boost community support, Indaria Jones, founder and CEO of The Creators Lounge located on Syracuse’s South Side, pioneered Buy Black Saturdays, a local initiative where Black vendors sell their products at pop-up shops located curbside on South Salina Street. Vendors pay no fees and marketing is funded and produced by the lounge.
“It’s just been really great, because it brings back the community part to the South Side,” Jones said.
The lounge is also working to overcome the challenge of buying Black through Black Syracuse, a social directory highlighting Black-owned businesses, events, housing, and food. As another means to directly benefit businesses in the community, The Creators Lounge received $11,000 from the Black Equity and Excellence grant through the Central New York Community Foundation. The fund itself was created this past summer and supports community projects that will help encourage self-sufficiency and improve economic conditions within the Black community.
Initiatives through The Creators Lounge are just one way Black business owners have seen support.