By: Maiysha Kai

Money is green, but when it comes to leveraging the power of our dollars to best benefit the community, many of us feel it best to buy black whenever possible. With that in mind, The Glow Up is here to remind you that it’s once again National Buy Black Week, with the aim of getting us to align our values with our dollars.

As the National Buy Black Week site reads:

National Buy BLACK Week’s goal is to ignite Black Economic Freedom! Buying Black has to be INTENTIONAL and we must begin the process of INVESTING, the over 2.5 Trillion dollars being spent yearly, Back into the BLACK COMMUNITY!

But it’s going to take us coming together as one unit to make this Happen!

Our Children, Our Schools, Our Neighborhoods are Depending on us to make a Change and NOW is no better time! #NOMORECHAINS

Granted, this is often easier said than done—finding a black-owned grocery store, car dealer, gas station or black landlord or lady may not always be realistic, but there are still plenty of small, everyday ways that you can support black businesses without sacrificing quality.

Case in point? In February, I went on a mission to use only black-owned, helmed and created beauty products for the month. Finding that after 28 days, I’d only scratched the surface, I’ve kept that same energy, now replacing a full 60 percent of my typical products with black-owned ones, including my body wash, deodorant, and the majority of my cosmetics.

the Buy Black site has several of its own suggestions, but if you’re looking for places to buy black this week (and hopefully, beyond), may I also suggest a few resources?

First up: for everything from beauty to household supplies that care for the environment as well as the race, Blk + Grn is an all-natural emporium with a surprising inventory of goods all by black artisans.

The truth is, while it’s not always easy to find, there’s so much black-owned goodness to experience; when I’m on a deep dive for something new, I always check out Shoppe Black, where I’ve found everything from black-owned wine brands to jewelers, and much more.

And if you really want to get serious about buying all black, all the time? I recommend Maggie Anderson’s Our Black Year: One Family’s Quest to Buy Black in America’s Racially Divided Economy to give you a real perspective on what it takes, and why it matters to reinvest in our businesses first. You may not be able to buy 100 percent black overnight, but a commitment to 50 percent is easier than you may think …

Trust me, I’m doing it.

This article originally appeared in the San Antonio Observer.

By Maiysha Kai

Posts by By Maiysha Kai