BLACK EXCELLENCE & EMPOWERMENT

The California Black Media Political Playback

Last Saturday, Rep. Barbara Lee held her first U.S. Senate campaign rally at Laney College in Oakland.

“We fight for freedom, for dignity, for justice, and, together, we win,” said Lee to a cheering crowd of supporters gathered at the Alameda County community college.

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Law Makers Push Bill To Grant Prisoners Right To Vote

Proposition 17, approved in 2020 by California voters, enabled persons convicted of felonies on parole to vote.

If the bill passes the Assembly and Senate, and the governor approves it, voters in California could vote to join Vermont, Maine, and Washington D.C. in allowing incarcerated individuals to vote.

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HOW AMAZON’S BLACK BUSINESS ACCELERATOR AIMS TO EMPOWER WOMEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY

BY: DANYEL SURRENCY JONES; DIRECTOR, HEAD OF AMAZON’S BLACK BUSINESS ACCELERATOR

“When Amazon’s Black Business Accelerator reached out in April 2021, it took a 20-minute phone conversation for me to know it was a partnership my business needed I was blown away by the support and resources Amazon offered to grow my business, especially as I was new to selling on Amazon ” – Shennel Fuller, founder of Miles and Milan, based in Beverly Hills, California

The institutional inequities of our economy have always been felt most by the underserved While the entire country experienced fear and uncertainty during the pandemic, an eye-opening spotlight fell on the disparities that exist in our communities for Black-owned businesses.

In 2020, our communities and our economy experienced many hardships and Blackowned businesses were hit especially hard. A National Bureau of Economic Research report found that 41% of Black-owned U.S. businesses closed from February to April 2020, the largest closure rate of any racial group, with Black women-owned businesses taking even more of the brunt. According to the report, even before the pandemic, Black women entrepreneurs started businesses at four times the overall population, but only 3% of those businesses mature and survive beyond five years. The health and economic crises of 2020 forced pivots that most small businesses didn’t have the infrastructure to support, or the resources build.

While many physical retail doors were closing, businesses were compelled to open ecommerce channels. This transition was an uphill battle for Black-owned businesses that didn’t have the human capital and supply chain mechanisms in place to develop a new distribution model during a health care crisis.

Driven by our broad responsibility, Amazon took action. We invested $150 million over four years to launch the Black Business Accelerator (BBA), which provides Blackowned businesses access to a suite of resources to help them succeed in Amazon’s store, including financial assistance, business education and coaching, and marketing support.

Third-party sellers most of which are small and medium-sized businesses represent nearly 60% of product sales in Amazon’s store, and we aim to equalize opportunities for women-owned and Black-owned businesses to enjoy abundant success. While seeking to gain an understanding of why the inequities in our economies exist, we leaned on third-party research data and findings from economists, and learned that one critical factor of economic inequality is associated with the lack of access to capital and the increased trend of self-funding. As a result, in addition to the BBA, we launched the Amazon Community Lending program that helps sellers in underserved communities fund needs like inventory expansion, brand building, and customer acquisition to help their business grow. Article Continues on page 5

...BLACK BIZ ACCELERATOR

Initiatives like the BBA and selling in Amazon’s store unlock a powerful and proven economic engine that enables entrepreneurs to build their brands and sell their products to customers worldwide. Since the launch of the BBA, thousands of Black-owned businesses have enrolled in the program. We know that customers value the wide selection and diversity of products offered by these businesses, and we love seeing the offerings our selling partners provide. It further shows that thriving Black-owned businesses play a critical role in creating innovation and are the fuel to accelerate our economy.

“For my stage of business, the most important aspect of the BBA is having an account manager who is truly vested in your success, and provides you with the right resources to grow your business in Amazon’s store. I have introduced and encouraged so many Black female founders to join the BBA because of this singular benefit. The program has made me feel more comfortable with the tools and resources provided by Amazon, so that I could start to grow and scale my business effectively.” –

Aishetu Fatima Dozie, founder of Bossy Cosmetics, based in Palo Alto, California.

As a former small business owner, I admire our small business partners’ innovative spirit and ability to break societal and economic barriers, and will continue to do everything I can to support the Black-owned businesses throughout their entrepreneurial journey.

The real impact of accelerators is in the pairing of right-sized benefits and working backwards from the needs of the businesses to provide the most meaningful resources After establishing our foundation and examining key learnings from 2022, we continue to grow and apply those learnings to improve the BBA and its ability to support our selling partners.

Amazon’s BBA supports the success of Blackowned businesses by providing a place for their businesses to gain the resources and knowledge they need to start, scale, and impact to inspire and encourage, especially when times get hard. We stand firm in our vision to target systemic barriers and leverage our entire community to create sustainable pathways to equity that build generational wealth for not only Blackowned businesses and Black women-owned businesses, but all underserved businesses.

Ahead of its inception, the BBA developed the Black Business Accelerator Advisory Council, composed of luminaries from the Black business community who provide strategic guidance and direction for the future of this initiative. We’re also growing our strategic partnerships with Black entrepreneurial community organizations that are aligned with developing programming that reflects the needs of the Black business community. Our efforts are moving metrics that stimulate economic growth and lead to generational wealth.

As an integral part of the BBA’s mission to build sustainable growth, we commit to increasing discoverability and visibility of Black-owned businesses. We create discoverability tools such as the Black-Owned Business badge, which helps customers more easily shop and support Black-owned businesses selling in Amazon’s store while empowering Black-owned businesses to reach more customers.

To shop and discover Black-owned businesses in Amazon’s store, visit Amazon’s Buy Black store and Amazon’s storefront all year long, and look for the Black-Owned Business badge. If you’re interested in joining Amazon’s BBA, please visit amazon.com/BBA.