For Us By Us Presents: Black Wall Street

For Us By Us is an employee resource group that services employees who identify as a part of the Black diaspora and allies of the aforementioned group. Our goal is to foster a more diverse and inclusive work space while providing additional support, resources and a sense of community.

This year for Black History Month, For Us By Us reinvented the narrative by focusing on modern day heroes within the Black community. The month kicked-off with a newsletter that was shared weekly across MediaCom U.S. offices highlighting Black culture in various areas of interest (e.g. comedy, sports, fashion etc.). As the month progressed, the group revealed their Black Wall Street event which was held on 2/20. 

Black Wall Street is the former by-name of the Greenwood neighborhood in Tulsa, Oklahoma where representatives of the Black community created a self-sufficient and prosperous business district in the early 20th century; however, on May 31,1921 the area was massacred resulting in the loss of homes, businesses & lives. This event was a call to action for members and allies of the Black diaspora to understand the significance of supporting Black entrepreneurs.

Open to all WPP employees, the event allowed attendees to experience the recreation of the most historical black owned financial institution while giving Black entrepreneurs an opportunity to promote their brand/product to a larger community. In total there were about 200 - 250 attendees, all taking time out to talk to the vendors and hear about their brands. 

Beyond the passion that each vendor has shown for their brand, here are some additional reasons to support Black Owned Businesses:

• The median wealth for white families is about 12x that of Black families averaging around $140,000, and 1 in 4 black households have zero or negative net worth compared to less than 1 in 10 white families without wealth. Even more concerning is that by 2053, the median wealth for Black families is projected to fall to zero.
• Due to the lack of capital previously mentioned, many African American business owners fund their own businesses, meaning that most Black-owned businesses are sole proprietorship's that don’t make enough money to pay employees. In 2018, the unemployment rate for African Americans fell to 6.6 percent (almost double that for white Americans and higher for other minority groups). As Black-owned small businesses are likely to hire from the local community, supporting them can create the job opportunities people need to achieve financial stability.
•  While some large companies vocally support minorities & their diverse cultures, they continue to practice policies that keep systems of injustice intact. Whether it’s H&M’s unsound marketing or Starbucks’ removing people from its store, African Americans and other minorities often bear the brunt of corporate discrimination. When you choose a Black-owned business over problematic companies, you vote with your dollar by divesting from these kinds of practices and hold companies accountable. And further down the road, you empower successful minority-owned businesses to implement equitable policies.
• Currently, a dollar circulates in Asian communities for a month, and white communities for 17 days. How long does a dollar circulate in the black community? 6 hours! African American buying power is at 1.1 Trillion; and yet only 2 cents of every dollar an African American spends in this country goes to black owned businesses.

Moving forward, please be sure to consider all of the above details when the opportunity for YOU to support a black owned business presents itself. Feel free to reach out to us directly for any future collaborations.

Vendor list below:

Awomi Naturals | Wizdom Gear | G.R.A.C.E by Millie Max | Adorn New York | Millenial Toons | Yazzzz | Afrocentric Keyy | Da Spot NYC | DJ Monay | Jay The Creative