The IABB directory is available, populated with black owned businesses from across the country. There is a website and a mobile app, sure to accommodate tech-savvy millennials and the generation that prefers the comfort of computers.
Unfortunately, we can lead consumers to water, but we can't make them drink. Black Business directories are tools that are only valuable to people who value buying black. Shifting the mentality of consumers requires creativity, patience, and the support of main stream media.
Thanks to Rick Ross, the #buyblack movement is being promoted by some of the biggest names in rap. His recent single "Buy Back The Block" is a powerful song about black economic empowerment. Check out the lyrics here.
Accompanied by Gucci Mane and 2 Chainz, Rick Ross encourages the black community to consider entrepreneurship and support black owned businesses. In the video, Ross sports apparel from BlackOwned, a Cincinnati based business that has been promoting black economic empowerment since 2011.
Let's hope this song is the beginning of a larger movement. Share the song, but more importantly, adopt the mentality.