Black-owned bookstores are popping up around the country, offering spaces and access to books that may not be on the shelves at chain bookstores. Larger corporations like Amazon and Target sometimes sell books at a lower price compared to independent Black bookstores. Five bookstore owners told Capital B their stores provide community, something large corporations […]
Black Businesses
Posted inBlack Businesses, Black Farmers, Economy, Politics & Policy
Black-Owned Businesses Confront Rising Costs Amid Trump’s Tariffs
Sweeping tariffs took effect Thursday, and while President Donald Trump has said the tariffs would lead to factories and jobs moving back to the United States, for Black Americans and small-business owners, it is not that simple. Prices are expected to dramatically rise for clothing and shoes; electronics like cellphones and computers; cars and auto […]
Posted inBlack Businesses, Economy, Partner Content
For Black Women, Seeds of Wealth Start With Homeownership
After she moved into her first apartment in 2021, a one-bedroom unit in East Baltimore, Saj Dillard realized her rent wouldn’t have gotten her much once her lease ended. The recent college graduate wanted to grow her capital, build wealth and have the chance to own something. So, she set a goal for herself — […]
Posted inBlack Businesses, Money
In New Orleans, Essence Fest Is a Celebration — but Not Always for Black Locals
This is the second story in our series chronicling the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. On the first night of Essence Fest, Paper Machine, an artist space in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward, came alive with creativity and community. Inside a sunlit room, Lauryn Hinton gathered neighbors around long tables scattered with scissors, glossy magazines, […]
Posted inBlack Businesses, Culture, History, Money
‘Sinners’ Honored Juke Joints. Today, They’re Fighting to Stay Open.
The blues runs deep through Orlando Paden’s veins. As a child, he danced for nickels and quarters by the jukebox. He cleaned, crushed cans, and bagged them. He’d greet Mr. Bill, the bouncer, at the front door of his father’s juke joint, and watch patrons play pool and arcade games. Folks broke beer bottles, fought, […]
Posted inBlack Businesses, Politics & Policy, Technology
With TikTok Ban in Limbo, Black Creators Face an Uncertain Future
The story has been updated. The original story was published on January 16. Lifestyle content creator Talia Cadet hasn’t quit her day job, but TikTok has changed her life, she says. The additional income generated from her viral lists of Black-owned products, books she loves, and local events has made “a huge difference,” especially as […]
Posted inBlack Businesses, Rural Issues
Dollar Stores Force Local Grocery Stores to Close. This Woman Opened One Anyway.
Marquitrice Mangham never imagined that she’d open a grocery store in her hometown of Webb, Mississippi. She left in the 1990s after high school. But in 2016, she inherited her family’s farm, splitting her time between the majority-Black town of fewer than 500 people in the rural Delta and her current home in Atlanta. Webb […]
Posted inBlack Businesses, Money
Ye Can’t Sell ‘White Lives Matter’ Shirts Because Two Black Men Own the Trademark
The reason Ye — the artist formerly known as Kanye West — can’t legally sell his “White Lives Matter” T-shirts is not because the phrase is designated as hate speech by the Anti-Defamation League. It’s because two Black men own the legal trademark. Ramses Ja and Quinton Ward, two Black radio hosts in Phoenix, Arizona, […]