It’s undeniable that the Black Lives Matter movement has ignited a global consciousness around systemic racism affecting Black communities.
Those who want to make a real impact and continue showing solidarity with the movement can do so by participating in Black Pound Day.
Here we look at what Black Pound Day is and what you can do to get involved.
What is Black Pound Day?
Black Pound Day isn’t related to Black Friday – though the spirit of it can certainly apply when Black Friday arrives.
Launched on Saturday 27 June, Black Pound Day encourages shoppers to choose Black-owned businesses once a month when shopping locally or online.
When is Black Pound Day?
Aimed to be a continuous initiative, Black Pound Day happens on the first Saturday of every month.
The next Black Pound Day is on Saturday 5 September, while the last Black Pound Day was on 2 August.
Why is Black Pound Day important?
The simple answer is: Black-owned businesses need support.
According to the Financial Times not only do black-owned businesses struggle to find investors, they are also less likely to have overdrafts approved by banks. Black-owned businesses are also more likely to be charged higher interests by banks compared to white-owned businesses.
Another study from the Federation of Small Businesses and Aston University found that although small businesses that belong to Black and ethnic minority entrepreneurs contribute £25bn to the UK economy, they still remain under-financed and experience greater barriers to entry.
Quite often such businesses don’t have mainstream support, making it more difficult to sustain and grow business.
Black Pound Day aims to make the UK economy more inclusive of Black businesses, which can then help support Black communities.
How do I support Black Pound Day?
If you struggle to find a Black-owed business locally, you can shop online.
Etsy hosts hundreds of independent black-owned shops across fashion, beauty, home decor, art, food, and more.
Shop Black-owned businesses on Etsy.
The official Black Pound Day website links to a number of directories that specialize in Black-owned businesses and start-ups.
You can also donate directly to the Black Pound Day campaign.
When you shop on Black Pound Day, be sure to share images of your purchases on social media with the hashtag #BlackPoundDay.
You can follow the official Black Pound Day account on Instagram too, which currently has 23.5K followers.