9 Companies and Brands Blacks Should Support and Boycott

By Christina Burton

In a mostly white-owned world, black people should be able to closely relate to the few businesses that stand out as black-owned and operated. In fact, most of these companies should be pillars of the black community—they should be hiring blacks to work, putting money into black causes and helping to elect black leaders. With the race’s increased spending power at $913 billion, black money should have the potential to support some underdog black and non-black organizations that make an effort to support black power and lifestyle.

This is all happening, but not nearly enough. According to Margarita Anderson, founder and chief executive officer of the Empowerment Experiment, there are still “national, but relatively unsung, black companies [that black people] should be supporting.” Anderson and her husband, John, started the Empowerment Experiment to promote self-help economics within the black neighborhoods.

COMPANIES TO SUPPORT:

Rolling Out Magazine

Rolling Out is America’s largest black newspaper with over a million copies in circulation, especially in metro locations such as Atlanta, Los Angeles, Chicago, Baltimore. It’s “the free weekly you find in the barber shop, church, the bus stop,” explained Anderson.

The newspaper explores all subject matters and provides a fresh and thoughtful look into black entertainers, black leaders and black trends. A free publication published by Munson Steed, Rolling Out often steers clear of gossip while nailing every chance to lay black news, views and headlines out for the community to read.

SEE ALSO

McDonald’s

Yes, you can criticize and avoid the thousands of luminous yellow M’s hoisted over city streets. You can even drive past the aroma of the world’s best french-fried potato thinking, “this stuff is so unhealthy!” But let’s face it: McDonald’s cannot be frowned upon, especially by black people. The company publicly donates billions of dollars to black education and scholarship funds, job training and entrepreneurship, and is a major employer of African-Americans worldwide.

Said Anderson: “I worked there under current CEO Don Thompson and can attest to their commitment to franchise and supplier diversity.” Close to 40 percent of McDonalds restaurant operators are either women or minorities.

McDonald’s also willingly targets black people’s heritage by earmarking its own budgets for support of the Essence Music Festival in New Orleans, and keeping up the Black365 program.

SEE ALSO

Marriott

For five consecutive years, Marriott International has been ranked as one of the “40 Best Companies for Diversity” by Black Enterprise. In DiversityInc’s list of “Top 50 Companies for Diversity,” the hotel chain ranked fourth overall in 2009, 11th in 2008 and 46th in 2007.

As part of its mission to focus on diversity, the company reaches out to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the National Association of Black Accountants and the National Black MBA Association.

“[Marriott] is doing the most, by far, to recruit and support black business owners for hotels,” Anderson said. “There are so many companies that don’t do nearly enough business with our entrepreneurs. They market to us, but don’t do business with us and sometimes won’t even locate their business in our neighborhoods.”

SEE ALSO

Compro Tax

Owner, Dr. Jackie Mayfield

Compro Tax is the largest black-owned bookkeeping and tax preparation firm in the United States. It’s “our H&R Block,” Anderson said.

Owned by Dr. Jackie Mayfield, 29-year-old Compro Tax has over 300 offices servicing taxpayers throughout the country. Fun fact about Mayfield: he promotes the Black Millionaire Mentorship Program, a national effort promoting self-sufficiency for black people.

SEE ALSO

Heritage Link Brands

Selena Cuffe and Khary Cuffe

Available on American Airlines flights as well as in various grocery stores, Heritage Link is an importer of South African wines and of African wines from black-owned wineries. The company invests heavily in diaspora causes, according to Anderson, including war-torn, poverty stricken African nations. Delicious wines like Ethiopian tej, or honey wine, and West African’s popular palm wine varieties are all available through Heritage Link. The South African-inspired company is only four years young, but is located in 26 states and distributes African wine in 41 states.

SEE ALSO

COMPANIES TO BOYCOTT:

American Apparel

For the same reasons black people don’t often shop at Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister and J. Crew, blacks should not buy clothing from American Apparel. The company does not market to blacks nor is it located anywhere that blacks are concentrated.

In 2008, the clothing company released an ad that simply screamed blackface. Although the company is known for its “barely there” advertisements and shapely, yet average-faced models, this particular ad sealed the deal for many of American Apparel’s black shoppers. Plus, they clearly do not market their clothes to black women or men. Just visit their website for evidence of that.

SEE ALSO

Koch Industries

There’s reasons why black people distance themselves from the Tea Party Movement, and climate change denial, cutting Medicare and decreasing taxes for the rich are just a few. One company that heavily supports the Tea Party is Koch Industries. In fact, the Wichita, Kans.-based petroleum and paper product parent company is a major funder of tea party-goers. How do you boycott Koch? Don’t buy Georgia-Pacific brand products (Angel Soft, Mardi Gras and Dixie to name a few).

SEE ALSO

Cleopatra

No, not the East African pharaoh. Boycott the full-length movie planned for release in 2013 starring Angelina Jolie.

Movie critic Mike Fleming of Deadline say Jolie is a “perfect fit” for the role because she may be the only actor popular enough to get the film noticed by financiers and audiences alike. However, the movie’s critics have said that they would’ve been happy with Beyonce or even Halle Berry. Though Jolie is not African-American, blacks are more so angered about her in the role since three previous Hollywood films about the Egyptian queen starred white actresses Elizabeth Taylor, Claudette Colbert and Vivian Leigh in 1963, 1934 and 1945, respectively.

SEE ALSO

Anything Donald Trump owns and operates

In 1973, “The Donald” was sued by the Justice Department for racial discrimination in his management company’s housing units. Three years later, the Justice Department charged him again for the same thing.

In a 1991 book about Donald Trump, he was quoted as saying “laziness is a trait in blacks” and “Black guys counting my money! I hate it.”

Lastly, in the last few months, Trump has publicly and lividly questioned President Barack Obama’s nationality, claiming Obama needed to prove that he was born in the United States. When the president released his birth certificate to the public, Trump shook it off and went on to challenge Obama’s grades in college and his admission to Harvard University.

Even the Indianapolis 500 replaced Trump’s appearance at this year’s race because Trump feared political ramifications of the rampant nationwide protests could mar his 2012 presidential bid.

SEE ALSO