The South Coast Insider - March 2021

BUSINESS BUZZ

Spotlight

on Black businesses

By Steven Froias

After the nation – and world – witnessed the horrific murder of George Floyd last May, many were galvanized to take to the streets and express their outrage and force America to grapple with its legacy of racial injustice.

Justina Perry, founder of BuyBlackNB.

J

ustina Perry, too, was galvanized into action. The 32-year-old life-long New Bedford resident says the sight of what she saw happening to Black bodies around the nation compelled her to take action.

That determination found expression in a campaign she launched last June called BuyBlackNB – an online platform highlighting the area’s many Black-owned small business and creative endeavors. It was launched as a website that featured over 75 Black-owned businesses. You can find it at buyblacknb.com.

In a release announcing the new venture, Perry stated “In supporting local Black-owned businesses, we are working to close the racial wealth gap, strengthen our local economies, foster job creation, and celebrate Black culture.”

It has certainly done all that. Indeed, it quickly entered the collective consciousness of the region and became widely shared via social media – fulfilling its mission almost from day one and gathering new teammates to the cause.

The impressive BuyBlackNB.com offers viewers an interactive map to help patrons discover the businesses it listed in its directory, and it continued to add new ones over the summer and into the autumn. And, it doesn’t charge any sort of fee to be listed as a Black-owned business on its website or social media platforms.

“The work is a labor of love for people, places, and products that make up the New Bedford community,” the group’s first press release stated, adding that BuyBlackNB would serve as “a source

for resources and action.” It quickly made good on that pledge by conducting a fundraiser consisting of a branded t-shirt and tank tee sale, with all of the proceeds going to the New Bedford branch of the NAACP.

Intersectional justice

This past holiday season, BuyBlackNB introduced the first Black-owned Holiday Gift Directory to the South Coast, ending a satisfying first half-year of life. But far from resting on its laurels, the BuyBlackNB movement is poised for an even bigger 2021.

In February, BuyBlackNB launched “Black in Business” to highlight and support Black entrepreneurs and aspiring business leaders. To do this, they’re partnering with the New Bedford Historical Society to host its first virtual event called, “HERstory: A Celebration of Black Women.”

HERstory events will give participants the opportunity to hear from women entrepreneurs, “drawing from a collective wealth of business experience and a shared passion for supporting women of color businesses,” the introduction states. “With HERstory, we invite everyone to join in celebrating Black Women role models and to enjoy women-led and focused discussions.”

The first HERstory took place on Thursday, February 25th. The speakers included Samia Walker of EforAll; Celia Brito, Tanya Alves, Cynthia Rose of Celia’s Boutique; Lori Gomes of Beauty Union; and Iva Brito, artist, educator and activist. (Be sure to

“The work is a labor of love for people, places, and products that make up the New Bedford community”

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March 2021 | The South Coast Insider