What is Black Pound Day?
It’s undeniable that the Black Lives Matter movement has ignited a global consciousness around systemic racism affecting Black communities.
Those who want to make a real impact and continue showing solidarity with the movement can do so by participating in Black Pound Day.
Here we look at what Black Pound Day is and what you can do to get involved.
What is Black Pound Day?
Black Pound Day isn’t related toBlack Friday– though the spirit of it can certainly apply when Black Friday arrives.
Launched on Saturday 27 June, Black Pound Day encourages shoppers to choose Black-owned businesses once a month when shopping locally or online.
When is Black Pound Day?
Aimed to be a continuous initiative, Black Pound Day happens on the first Saturday of every month.
The next Black Pound Day is on Saturday 5 September, while thelast Black Pound Day was on 2 August.
Why is Black Pound Day important?
The simple answer is: Black-owned businesses need support.
According to theFinancial Timesnot only do black-owned businesses struggle to find investors, they are also less likely to have overdrafts approved by banks. Black-owned businesses are also more likely to be charged higher interests by banks compared to white-owned businesses.
Another study from the Federation of Small Businesses and Aston Universityfoundthat although small businesses that belong to Black and ethnic minority entrepreneurs contribute £25bn to the UK economy, they still remain under-financed and experience greater barriers to entry.
Quite often such businesses don’t have mainstream support, making it more difficult to sustain and grow business.
Black Pound Day aims to make the UK economy more inclusive of Black businesses, which can then help support Black communities.
How do I support Black Pound Day?
If you struggle to find a Black-owedbusiness locally, you can shop online.
Etsy hosts hundreds of independent black-owned shops across fashion, beauty, home decor, art, food, and more.
Shop Black-owned businesses on Etsy.
Theofficial Black Pound Day websitelinks toa number of directoriesthat specialize inBlack-ownedbusinesses andstart-ups.
You can alsodonate directly to the Black Pound Day campaign.
When you shop on Black Pound Day, be sure to share images of your purchases onsocial media with the hashtag #BlackPoundDay.
You canfollow the official Black Pound Day accounton Instagram too, which currently has 23.5K followers.
Author: Somrata Sarkar, Contributor
Previously a Tech Advisor Senior Staff Writer, Somrata researches and writes about the best tech deals to help readers make smart, informed buying decisions. She’s an expert on accessories and also reviews laptops, phones, audio and other devices.
