December 31, 2016
JWT New York/Twitter
BeingBlackBusiness.com was launched in December 2016. The website includes an interactive map that lists black-owned businesses.
A new website aims to make it easier to locate and support black-owned businesses in Philadelphia and across the country.
BackingBlackBusinesses.com was launched earlier this month by the Black Lives Matter organization and the ad agency J. Walter Thompson New York, according to the Huffington Post.
The website features an interactive map with markers for black-owned businesses. In Philadelphia, that includes Fishtown's Rocket Cat Cafe, owned by Debbie Anday and Jean-Paul Viera, and University City's The Fat Ham, owned by former "Top Chef" winner Kevin Sbraga.
This holiday season, help us build long-term economic power for Black communities by #backingblackbusiness https://t.co/MOUS8qEFq4
— Black Lives Matter (@Blklivesmatter) December 19, 2016
Users can sort through four categories: Food and Beverage, Health and Beauty, Entertainment and Lifestyle.
Black Lives Matter hopes the website's map will be the “the biggest and most easily accessible black businesses database in the country,” according to a statement sent to the Post.
In a statement to Mic, J. Walter Thompson's chief creative officer Brent Choi said the goal was to “reduce the racial disparity that exists in economic well-being through the promotion of black business ownership.”
The site includes an option for black business owners to add their business to the map. Currently, there are more than 300 businesses across the country registered on the site, with eight businesses in Philadelphia.
