{"id":2548,"date":"2025-02-23T13:21:25","date_gmt":"2025-02-23T13:21:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/?p=2548"},"modified":"2025-04-29T13:23:39","modified_gmt":"2025-04-29T13:23:39","slug":"corporate-america-abandons-dei-but-black-owned-brands-are-the-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/2025\/02\/23\/corporate-america-abandons-dei-but-black-owned-brands-are-the-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Corporate America abandons DE&amp;I, but Black-Owned brands are the future"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While corporations retreat, Black entrepreneurs continue to build, innovate, and thrive. According to&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/select\/shopping\/black-owned-business-guide-ncna1258948\">NBC Select<\/a>, over three million Black-owned brands are in the U.S., spanning every industry imaginable. As corporate America abandons its DE&amp;I commitments, the power shifts to conscious consumers who invest in businesses that uplift and sustain marginalized communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here are just a few standout Black-owned brands leading the charge:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Clothing &amp; Accessories<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Telfar \u2013 The brand that revolutionized luxury fashion with its motto: \u201cNot for you\u2014for everyone.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Hanifa \u2013 A trailblazing womenswear brand founded by Anifa Mvuemba, known for its stunning digital fashion shows.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Pyer Moss \u2013 Founded by Kerby Jean-Raymond, this label merges activism and high fashion.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Grayscale \u2013 A streetwear brand bringing bold aesthetics and social commentary to the forefront.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Sassy Jones \u2013 A standout accessories brand built on bold, unapologetic self-expression.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Beauty &amp; Skincare<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Fenty Beauty \u2013 Rihanna\u2019s globally inclusive beauty empire that set a new standard for shade diversity.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Mented Cosmetics \u2013 Beauty products created specifically for deeper skin tones.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Lip Bar \u2013 A Black-woman-owned brand disrupting the beauty industry with bold, non-toxic lipstick shades.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Pattern Beauty \u2013 Founded by Tracee Ellis Ross, specializing in products for textured hair.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Alikay Naturals \u2013 Natural haircare products with a devoted following.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Home &amp; Lifestyle<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Estelle Colored Glass \u2013 Hand-blown glassware that brings Black excellence to fine dining.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Jungalow \u2013 A home d\u00e9cor brand from designer Justina Blakeney, blending culture and bohemian flair.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Linoto \u2013 Luxury linen bedding made with sustainability in mind.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Yowie \u2013 A modern design studio curating unique home goods from independent artists.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Food &amp; Beverage<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Partake Foods \u2013 A Black-owned snack company offering allergen-friendly cookies and treats.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>McBride Sisters Wine Collection \u2013 The largest Black-owned wine company in the U.S., run by two sisters redefining the industry.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Uncle Nearest Whiskey \u2013 Honoring Nathan \u201cNearest\u201d Green, the Black distiller behind Jack Daniel\u2019s original recipe.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Capital City Mambo Sauce \u2013 The D.C. favorite taking over the condiment industry.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Meanwhile, corporate America\u2019s performative commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&amp;I) is unraveling at an alarming rate. In the years following the murder of George Floyd, corporations made bold promises to support marginalized communities, pledging billions in investments to level the playing field. But as the political landscape shifts and accountability wanes, those commitments are being discarded. A staggering number of major corporations have scaled back or eliminated DE&amp;I programs:&nbsp;<strong>Amazon, Target, Amtrak, Goldman Sachs, Disney, Deloitte, PBS, Google, Pepsi, General Motors (GM), GE, Intel, PayPal, Chipotle, Comcast, Accenture, The Smithsonian Institution, the FBI, Meta, Walmart, Boeing, Molson Coors, Ford Motor Co., Harley-Davidson, and John Deere<\/strong>&nbsp;have all abandoned or severely reduced their diversity efforts. The very companies that once paraded their commitment to racial equity in multimillion-dollar ad campaigns are now quietly erasing those initiatives from their bottom lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Not everyone is staying silent. Dr. Jamal Bryant, the influential pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in metro Atlanta, is leading a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/blackpressusa.com\/dr-jamal-bryants-40-day-target-fast-gains-momentum\/\">40-day economic fast\u2014or boycott\u2014of Target in direct response to the retailer\u2019s decision to phase out its DE&amp;I initiatives.<\/a>&nbsp;Target, headquartered in Minneapolis\u2014the city where George Floyd was murdered in 2020\u2014originally pledged $2 billion in investments toward Black-owned businesses. That commitment was due in December 2025, but on January 24, Target announced it would end its DE&amp;I efforts, effectively abandoning that financial commitment. Bryant, appearing on the Black Press\u2019&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=wf57O9xQOi0&amp;t=3s\">Let It Be Known news program<\/a>, condemned the move. \u201cAfter the murder of George Floyd, they made a $2 billion commitment to invest in Black businesses,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen they pulled out of the DE&amp;I agreement in January, they also canceled that $2 billion commitment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Target is just the beginning. Bryant calls for 100,000 people to halt their spending at the retail giant as a direct challenge to corporate America\u2019s retreat from racial equity. \u201cBlack people spend $12 million a day at Target,\u201d he said. \u201cBecause of how many dollars are spent there and the absence of commitment to our community, we are focusing on Target first.\u201d The boycott, designed to coincide with Lent, aims to leverage Black economic power to hold corporations accountable. Within just one week, 50,000 people had already signed the petition at&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/targetfast.org\/\">targetfast.org<\/a>, signaling the growing momentum behind the movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bryant\u2019s demands go beyond reinstating DE&amp;I. \u201cWhite women are the number one beneficiary of DE&amp;I,\u201d he noted. \u201cWhat I am asking for is a quarter of a billion dollars to be invested in Black banks so that our Black businesses can scale.\u201d He also called for Target to partner with HBCUs by integrating their business departments into its supply chain infrastructure. Meanwhile, the&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nnpa.org\/\">National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA)<\/a>\u2014the nation\u2019s largest Black-owned media organization\u2014has announced its own national public education and selective buying campaign in response to corporate America\u2019s retreat from DE&amp;I. \u201cWe are the trusted voice of Black America, and we will not be silent or nonresponsive to the rapid rise of renewed Jim Crow racist policies in corporate America,\u201d said NNPA Chairman Bobby R. Henry Sr.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">NNPA President and CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. reinforced the need for financial realignment. \u201cBlack Americans spend $2 trillion annually. We must evaluate and realign to question why we continue to spend our money with companies that do not respect us. These contradictions will not go unchallenged.\u201d In response, Bryant has partnered with Ron Busby, president and CEO of the U.S. Black Chambers, to provide consumers with a directory of 300,000 Black-owned businesses. \u201cYou can\u2019t tell people what not to do without showing them what to do,\u201d Bryant said. \u201cIf you\u2019re not going to Target or Walmart but need essentials like toilet paper, soap, or detergent, we\u2019ll show you where to get them and reinvest in Black businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And the impact of the boycott is already felt. Since Black consumers began boycotting Target, the company\u2019s stock has dropped by $11, Bryant noted. Stockholders are now suing Target due to the adverse effects of the boycott on its stock value. Bryant said the question is no longer whether corporate America will keep its promises\u2014it\u2019s clear that it won\u2019t. He said the same companies that plastered Black squares on social media and made grand statements about inclusion are now proving where their true priorities lie. \u201cAmerica has shown us time and time again: if it doesn\u2019t make dollars, it doesn\u2019t make sense,\u201d Bryant stated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>While corporations retreat, Black entrepreneurs continue to build, innovate, and thrive. According to&nbsp;NBC Select, over three million Black-owned brands are in the U.S., spanning every industry imaginable. As corporate America abandons its DE&amp;I commitments, the power shifts to conscious consumers who invest in businesses that uplift and sustain marginalized communities. Here are just a few [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[1597,1444,1598],"class_list":["post-2548","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business","tag-corporate-america","tag-dei-2","tag-nbc-select","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2548","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2548"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2548\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2549,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2548\/revisions\/2549"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2548"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2548"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2548"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}