Safety Recall: A defective product of State

When I was a little girl, I had a Roller skating Christie doll. Christie was Barbie’s brown friend, for those of you who did not have the good fortune to come of age during the ‘highly progressive’ nineties.

Christie was fairly identical to Barbie in every way except coloring. Her lips, hips, and hairstyle were exactly the same as Barbie’s, she just happened to be brown. It is worth mentioning that all my Barbies were Christies-- my mother(an Art History major) didn’t believe in the idealized body image that Barbie represented, and made exceptions only because my Aunt (A Black Studies minor) insisted that having black toys was germane to positive self identity in black children.

Hence, roller skating Christie.

I loved that doll. Her purple roller skates trailed sparks and the slight scent of butane as I dragged her back and forth across the hardwood floor of our living room. If I dragged her fast enough, I could make her long hair flow in the breeze, mahogany locks streaming out behind her like a Soft Sheen Carson ad.

One of the greatest disappointments of my early childhood was the day my Aunt came for a visit and took my roller skating Christie away. She explained that a little girl in Mississippi’s roller skating Barbie has malfunctioned-- the sparks from her skates caught her brother on fire, and that the little girl and her brother were hurt and now they were recalling the doll.

Even at eight years old, I was already a bit of a jackass. Although I understood what she was telling me, I was confident that none of these issues applied to my Christie. Firstly, It was Barbie that caught fire, not Christie. And I didn’t have a brother or sister-- just my precious dolls. But most importantly, my Christie functioned fine. And just because other people’s dolls didn’t work right didn’t mean she should take my Christie away, that was like punishing me for someone else’s mistake, and that would be wrong.

I patiently explained to my Aunt that while the incident in Mississippi was unfortunate and I hoped the little girl and her brother were alright, this had little to do with my Christie doll. It was a Barbie issue and a people with siblings issue, and I had neither, so it simply did not apply to this situation.

She laughed, urged my mother to send me to law school (again), and took the doll anyway, promising to bring me a new one on her next visit. I was so upset by the fiasco that I swore off Christies, shaving and removing the heads of all my other dolls so my mother would know I was serious. Who needed a toy to grow attached to when some grown up could come along and take it away? No, it was better to my eight year old mind to stick with books, whose secrets, once revealed, were mine forever.

Twenty three years and countless hours of therapy has given me a bit of perspective on this issue. As a small business owner, I am now intimately familiar with safety recalls and understand why they exist: when a product fails to function as intended, posing a danger to one consumer, the entire product line presents a potential danger to all consumers. Even if a consumer’s product works perfectly, it could be just a matter of time before it malfunctions and causes someone to be harmed.

I awoke this morning on the cusp of epiphany: This country needs a police recall.

Eight hundred and sixty six people have been killed by police this year. The circumstances surrounding their deaths are of little relevance, just as the fact that the children in Mississippi were somehow coated in hairspray before playing with Roller Skating Barbie. The individual circumstances do not negate the inherent danger of the product-- a Barbie doll is not supposed to set a child on fire. And the police are not supposed to ‘accidentally’ kill unarmed citizens.

Think about it. If police were a product, one such incidence would be enough to justify a recall of the entire line.

Imagine, if Tamir Rice’s toy guy backfired and somehow killed him, what the consequences would be for the manufacturer. A recall would be issued, amidst public outcry. An investigation would be launched into every step of the manufacturing and quality control process to find out how a defective product got to market in the first place. Other toy gun manufacturers would be subject to scrutiny and would be put in the uncomfortable position of proving that their toys were safe. Tamir’s family would get a check, perhaps even a scholarship fund established in his name, signifying the toy manufacturer’s commitment to product safety.

Why then, do we hold our police to a lower standard of accountability than we do privately held companies?

Police Officers may be individuals (just as my Christie doll was an individual to me), but ‘police’ as an entity are a product of the state (as an entity). Their function, ostensibly is to uphold the law and protect citizens. They are supposed to be the same, act the same, treat everyone the same-- that’s why they wear uniforms. Yet every other day we are reminded that the product of our great nation state is defective-- it regularly functions in a manner other than intended, with dangerous consequences to the (taxpayer/) consumer.

Imagine if your toaster set your house on fire with every thousandth slice of bread. If your shower hose strangled you, but only sporadically. If you car exploded when you clicked the doors-- every once in awhile.

Would you accept the explanations most of these toasters never set houses on fire at all; sometimes a shower hose has a bad day; millions of people lock and unlock their cars every day, and very few of them explode-- or would you demand the manufacturer be held accountable for their defective products?

Unless your name is Ben Brucato, we can all agree that the institution of police as a product of our nation-state is defective. The question is, when will we, the taxpayer/consumers, finally demand a recall?

My #SoGoneChallenge

Here's a little social media takeout for you. I'm not a rapper but I have something to say.

Openly Black: Is it safe to come out yet?

If you’re new to the BOTB and the sensitive type, you probably shouldn’t start with this post. Also I don’t really give warnings, so that’s pretty much the most you’ll ever get out of me going forward.

It’s February, and things are getting pretty black around here.

There are moments in life when you find yourself measuring time in increments of ‘before’ and ‘after’. February 2016 is already shaping up to be one of those moments for me. First, America  renewed my faith in democracy by saying NO to Trump. Then, Ta-Nehisi Coates criticized Bernie in such a way that over thirty new articles on reparations were written in under 15 days. Meanwhile, Cam Newton was busy being mistaken for Huey P. Newton because he had the audacity to enjoy being damn good at his job.

But the kicker, the moment that made it ‘before 2.16’ and ‘after 2.16’ in my mind was Beyonce’s live transition from consciousness in art to conscious artist as seen at super bowl fifty.

In case you have been living under a rock somewhere, here’s a quick 3SB on the whole SB50/HovNBey drama

3SB (Three Second Background)

1. On Friday the 5th, Jay Z donated $1.5 million to Black Lives Matter
2. On Saturday the 6th, Beyonce surprised the internet by dropping this lovely Ode to Blackness:
   Beyoncé - Formation (Dirty) from Michael Wells on Vimeo.
   

 3. On Sunday the 6th, Beyonce performed at the Super bowl, and her dancers wore this:

Courtesy of Twitter

Yeah, so like I said, it’s getting pretty black around here; and some white people are not taking it very well. Like, boycott Beyonce not well. Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani said he thought it was rude of Beyonce to use the super bowl to “attack the police.”

Now, this is where things get interesting. Why is it that when we are discussing the words or actions of a person of color, ‘criticize’ and ‘attack’ suddenly become synonymous? Coates took heavy criticism from his peers for his ‘attack’ of Bernie Sanders, even though every one of his articles specifically stated that he agreed with Senator Sanders on several issues. Beyonce, by speaking out about the unchecked slaughter of black and brown bodies, is perceived as ‘attacking’ the police.

An old adage comes to mind: don’t bite the hand that feeds you.

White supremacy thrives on an illusion of equality maintained through a system of black exceptionalism. By this I mean if there is no hope that one can become rich enough to ‘transcend race’, no Oprahs, Obamas, and Kanyes, the natives become restless.

It’s a delicate balancing act. Statistically speaking, whites are only comfortable with 8-10% nonwhite people in a given sphere. (So basically, Booker T. was right all along.) The unwritten rule of black exceptionalism is conformity to white normative ideas of blackness. Most importantly, blacks in the public sphere must strive to never remind people that they are in fact, black.

If they are rich and still black, then integration has failed. If they do choose to remind people that they are black, they must do it in such a way that makes blacks the butt of the joke (i.e. Kanye West, Flava Flav, Dennis Rodman). This rule has held true for so long we as blacks no longer even question it.

When discussing the Coates/Johnson argument with someone way smarter than me who’s been at this way longer than I have, they remarked: “Even (Barack) Obama can’t afford to be openly pro-black in this political climate.”

The weight of this bitter truth hit me like a paintball to the boob. We have a black president, yet at his final State of the Union address, he tap danced around the slaughter of the people who elected him and said something that basically equated to ‘all lives matter’.

I understood the choice. The president has an aggressive climate agenda, and he decided to prioritize the continued  existence of the planet over the concerns of one subset of his constituency.

Before February, I had come to terms with a black President that couldn’t openly advocate for black Americans. I was alright with a Presidential hopeful that sidestepped race in favor of political expediency. I was okay with waiting. But that was before I realized that I too, like my negro nose with Jackson five nostrils.

Before I started asking unthinkable questions, like:

• If the richest 62 people could pay the deficit twice over and still have money left for an island or ten, why can’t we afford reparations?
• Why is what Beyonce did an ‘attack’, and what Ammon Bundy did a ‘protest’? Neither took hostages.
• Why are we only indicting Asian male police officers? Are Asians considered less white than I thought? Is this part of a larger agenda to divide and conquer minorities?
• Are blacks really better off than we were before Civil Rights? Economically? Socially?
• Why is George Washington a hero and Malcolm X a radical?
• Why is it okay for a man to become a woman who loves women, but not for a black person to speak openly about black issues?
• Why is it okay to be proud of being country, but ‘ghetto’ to be proud of being from the hood?
• Why are black features adored on everything but black women (and men)?
• Why do white journalists get to be individuals and black journalists have to be intellectuals/activists?
• If we’re all Africans like Meryl Streep said (which we are), why isn’t African history studied worldwide?

... and while we’re at it

• If we really care about drug epidemics, why aren’t we drone striking fields of poppies?
• Why do grocery stores throw away food when 1 in 4 American children are starving? Other countries have laws against things like that.

I don’t have all the answers. But as black and white consciousness rises, I realize with pride that I am living in times where it’s (sorta) okay to ask the questions. 2.16 isn’t even halfway over, and already America has started a real conversation about race that is 400 years past due.

Perhaps the limits of our collective conscription have finally been reached. Perhaps, after the initial shock wears off, openly black Americans will find the type of reluctant acceptance that openly gay Americans now enjoy(?).

Or maybe Beyonce will get assassinated by a rabid ‘patriot’. It really could go either way.

One things is abundantly clear though: before 2.16, race was America’s worst kept dirty little secret. Now, by strokes subtle and bold, blacks of all flavors are finally starting to come out of the closet.

Choosing Change Part II: Fixing Global Inequality Starts with Black America

Oxfam published a report on Monday saying the wealthiest 1% have more money than the rest of the world combined. Initially, I felt defeated, both by the lack of conventional media coverage of this groundbreaking (if damning) data, and by social media’s lack of sustained pressure to discuss this inequity in the subsequent week.

Sixty two people have a combined worth of 1.67 trillion dollars, the same amount of money that the poorest 3.6 billion people in the world share. The report goes on to list statistics on carbon emissions versus impact that had me throwing up a little in my mouth. As my horror mounted, I tried to put this gross amount of money into a context that my fifth quintile mind could comprehend.

Sixty two people have 28 billion dollars each. How much is a billion? One hundred millions? Nope, google says it’s 1000 millions. Twenty Eight Thousand Millions still seems like an inconceivable sum. I try again.

Sixty two people can spend 1 million dollars a day for eighty years.

Sixty two individuals could take up a collection and pay the U.S. deficit-- and still spend 1 million dollars a day for fifty four years.

This isn’t make-it-rain money. It’s make-it-Katrina-money.

My first reaction was to get angry. The 1% are running our world, and they’re doing a piss poor job of it. It’s not even sixty two families! There are four Waltons, three Mars, and two Kochs on the list. These players and pimps are getting it in on elections, media, holidays, pharmaceuticals, banking, gambling, makeup, the internet, and television.

There is literally no way to avoid putting your money in one of their pockets.

Like the mythological Hydra of old (that’s Greek, not Marvel for you millennials), this monstrous inequality has many heads and seems impossible to best.

Yes, I was frustrated and angry. As a black woman, the release of the report on the thirtieth anniversary of Martin Luther King Day served to underscore his sentiment (related by Harry Belafonte on the #MLKNow Livestream) that we were ‘integrating into a burning house’.

Martin Luther King’s solution was for us to become firemen. Instead of fighting fire with fire, he encouraged black America-- the downtrodden, the oppressed-- to extend the branch of kinship, take on the burdens of others-- to find a way to put the fire out! He encouraged us to use the power of economic withdrawal to force a government that was known as an agent of peace in the world and an economy that worked for everyone, not just a privileged few.

Critics might point out that during the time period Dr. King made those suggestions, the black/white wealth gap ranged from 1.8 to 1.6%, not the staggering 15-20% margin we read about today. They’re right. This is the largest margin of income inequality by race the United States has experienced since the eighteen hundreds.

Despite these bleak realities, black America still has the ability to realize Martin’s dream by following his plan. According to Nielsen’s market reports, African Americans possess 1.1 trillion dollars worth of buying power, and significantly influence market trends across all races and segments.

In other words, We Lit, and what we pick is Lit.

The sixty two richest people in the world are getting richer because we keep putting OUR money into THEIR pockets. It should make us angry-- at ourselves.

Forbes publishes this list every year. The same people are on it every year. All Oxfam really did was connect the dots for us that we could have connected for ourselves a few decades ago. Black America’s buying power keeps growing, while our wealth keeps shrinking. The solution is straightforward: stop making them rich.

If we are serious about economic justice, we have to stop shopping at Walmart.

We have to stop buying Mars candy.

We have to stop voting for any politician who gets money from the Koch brothers.

We have to give up Nikes, give up L'oreal, give up BMW, brands that we like. We have to remember that a brown face in the ad doesn’t mean it’s for us. But it won’t be enough to just give things up that we don’t need.

We have to invest in the creation of things we do need. We can’t escape Microsoft, Facebook, Google, Cox, Disney, Dell, and Apple without widening the digital divide. But we can invest in people like Kimberly Bryant of BlackGirlsCode. We can download free apps by black developers like Five-0 (a user submitted police interaction rating site) and Around The Way (a black business locator).

We cannot replicate the white supremacist and exclusionary structure that landed us in this mess by replacing it with a black supremacist system. We have to seek out diverse allies as equal partners in the fight to extinguish the fires of injustice. This is their house too, and it is burning.

We have to begin the move, as Dr. King stated, “from a thing based society to a people based society”. We have to adjust our view of integration from a melting pot of indistinguishable slop to a spicy paella of varied yet complementary ingredients. In 1968 Martin Luther King Jr. stood in a church in Memphis and asked black America to set a new standard for the world. Forty eight years later, Oxfam showed us the cost of saying no.

The way out is straightforward. It’s just not simple.

Sources

http://news.yahoo.com/us-budget-deficit-falls-8-low-2015-194021330.html

http://sites.nielsen.com/africanamericans/

http://blerds.atlantablackstar.com/2014/11/28/20-amazingly-innovative-apps-created-by-black-developers/2/

http://www.forbes.com/billionaires/list/#version:static

https://www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxfam.org/files/file_attachments/bp210-economy-one-percent-tax-havens-180116-en_0.pdf

Choosing Change, Part 1: Closing the Wealth Gap Through Intentional Spending, + 101 Black Startups That Need Your Starbucks Money!

In my ongoing quest to be a better person, I keep biting off more than I can chew. In my last post, The Revolution Will Not Be Televised... NowSo What? I promised to be more positive and focus on ways that people can and do create change in the world by making different choices.

My recipe for change seemed so simple and foolproof last weekend- start with a base of black owned businesses, sprinkle in a dash of shameless self promotion, top with a dollop of Dan Price economics et voila- Positivity pie served up BOTB style, right on time for the New Year.

My strategy was sound. I’m starting to take this blogging thing more seriously, and research shows that readers want to hear positive stories, especially during this time of year.

Only MYStory kind of sucks right now.

My business is struggling, my unemployment got challenged by my former employers (who I am way too classy to put on blast but you know who you are), and now the state of Ohio wants back pay in excess of $2000. My sleep schedule is whacked and everyone in my house could use a few hundred milligrams of Zoloft.

And Donald Trump is still running for President.

But, I digress...

Personal worries. We all have them. To you, they might not seem like much, but to me, they are the lodestone dragging me ever downwards, drowning my optimism in a sea of despair.

Nowadays, when I find myself at a pity party of one I take my innermost worries to the altar and leave them in God’s hands.

Then I run up like a bandit at three AM and steal them back.

I once heard a pastor compare our spiritual burdens to a woman’s purse. Without the weight of them on our shoulders, we feel incomplete, so we take things to the altar, then snatch them back before God can address them for us.

I carry a big bag o’ crazy, both literally and figuratively, and I sometimes often struggle with letting go and letting God. My rational mind knows that worry changes nothing and that faith, not sight has gotten me this far.

But the anal retentive control freak who lives in me has issues with relinquishing control. So I find myself returning to the altar over and over again, forcing my mind away from my personal struggles and onto the broader collective struggle of living up to my faith.

My faith tells me that people are innately good, that white privilege is wrong, and that if white people ‘got it’, most of them would do the right thing voluntarily.

See? Optimism.

I keep clinging to the hope that if I can just help my church to understand the breadth and the depth of the plague of white privilege, we can be on the ground floor of a common sense renaissance that will sweep the state, and eventually the nation.

Yes, I do honestly believe this. Change is possible, injustice is everyone’s problem, and progress is each generation’s responsibility.

As a former community organizer, I know that change is incremental, and the closer you are to an issue, the less objective you become. I am intimately familiar with the one-step-forward, two-steps-back dance of social change that begun at time immemorial and will continue ad infinitum.

My rational mind knows that Christians are not exempt from this strange continuum, that no one is exempt. That doesn’t mean I have to like it.

I should tell you that people who go to my church read this blog. I was going to refrain from publishing this entry so as not to offend anyone, but the day I start writing for readers instead of myself is the day I will shut this blog down forever. (Can I get an AMEN?)

I don’t like being called articulate. It’s always uttered with such an undertone of condescending shock; as if I, a black female, am supposed to be intellectually incapable of navigating the language I have been speaking since birth. When I publish the first BOTB en Espanol, feel free to call it articulate. Until then, why not just say:

“You’re so much smarter than I thought a black person would be!”

I don’t like that every week someone tells me they don’t recognize me because I have changed my hair. My face doesn’t change. Ever. So next time just look at that.

I don’t like that five years into our ‘courageous conversations on race’, some members of my church still question whether or not white privilege actually exists.

Excuse me? What planet are you from and what color is the sky there? The very fact that every conversation about race is structured around consideration of white feelings bears it out.

Understanding White Privilege- SALT Project

I don’t like that our church’s version of equality is a white person and a black person standing at the front of the room. They seem to think this is akin to developing black leadership, when it actually has the opposite effect. By inserting a black ‘token’ into a structure of white power, all you are doing is assigning a white accountabilibuddy for development of black power, thereby clipping the black leader’s wings.

It’s all of the optics of equality minus any of the sacrifice. I feel like after five years of grappling with race and faith, the people who still don’t get it probably don’t want to.

That’s where my faith comes in. Ta Nehisi Coates says that whiteness itself only exists in juxtaposition to blackness, that white is not a culture, simply a state of implied superiority.

This is not an evaluative statement on white America or caucasians in general. It’s simply a statement of fact.

Italian Americans are a cultural group. ‘Whites’ are not.

Let me put it another way. Vanilla is a flavor. It is distinct. It has a source, the vanilla bean. It is not the absence of chocolate.

African Americans, or blacks, are a cultural group. The descendants of slaves carved out a distinct and diverse culture in their new homeland. The descendants of immigrants assimilated themselves into white society by divorcing themselves from the culture of their homeland, aka taking the bribe of white privilege.

In this way the privileges associated with whiteness become the defining quality of white culture, and any challenge to white privilege becomes a de facto attack on whiteness itself.

I can’t (and shouldn’t) expect white America to sign on for a wholesale dismantling of their skin based meritocracy. But I can (and will) keep believing that white Christians are capable of such selfless acts of love.

So instead of sugarcoating reality, I’m going to keep serving it up, BOTB style, complete with a side of irony and just a dash of shameless self promotion. Yes, white families do average 20x the amount of black families. Yes, white privilege is real. And yes, it’s your job to fix it. But don’t worry, it’s my job too.

Five Ways Individuals Can Change Black White Income Disparity

1.10-10-50

This is a lifestyle change that can be easily implemented if you have $50- $100 extra dollars per month.

Spare Change Version:

Every month: Volunteer 10 hours of your time to a non-profit organization that addresses the root causes of income disparity (poverty, education, criminal justice, food security, financial literacy, etc.). Try to match your volunteer activities with your personal and/or professional areas of expertise. For example, if you are a lawyer, try volunteering at your local public defender’s office. Homemaker? Why not sign up for story time at your local inner city library or HeadStart center. Donate 10 dollars to the organization to help fund the services they provide. Redirect 50 dollars out of your normal budget to a Black Owned Business(BOBz)*.

Game Change Version:

Every month: Find and promote 10  BOBz. Get creative! You can promote the business for free by sharing it on Facebook, following on Google+ or Twitter, you can even email or text a snapshot of their business card to friends and family. Donate 10 (or more) dollars  to a BOBz crowdfunding campaign. Less than 1% of venture capital goes to minority owned businesses, so a little can go a long way on platforms like indiegogo, kickstarter, or gofundme. Redirect 50-500 dollars to BOBz by hosting an eight person dinner party at a black owned restaurant. For a list of Black Owned Restaurants by city, click here.

Make It Rain Version:

Every month: Replace 10 household items with items purchased from BOBz. This can be as simple as getting your LBGTQ friendly holiday cards off Etsy to making a major change like getting your produce direct from black farmers in your neighborhood. Invite 10 friends to join you every month in doing the 10-10-50 challenge. It’s okay if most of your friends say no thanks. If only two people a month say yes, your personal ‘action network’ is redirecting $1350 a year to BOBz. Reach back by donating 50 dollars to an organization that helps blacks break into your field or major. If you can’t find a program designed to help minorities in your field, email me- I’ll help!

2. #BUYBLACKEVERYFRIDAY

This concept is slowly but surely gaining momentum through social media. The  general idea is that BOBz run promotions on Friday to encourage shoppers to #BUYBLACK fifty two times a year. If every American spent just $1 in BOBz every Friday, we could generate over sixteen billion dollars in revenue by this time next year.

Spare Change Version:

Every Friday: Spend 5 (or more) dollars in BOBz. Share the hashtags #BUYBLACK and #BUYBLACKEVERYFRIDAY on your social networks on Fridays. If you miss a week, take 5 minutes to #FF 10 BOBz.

Game Change Version:

On Fridays: Challenge yourself by seeking out brick and mortar BOBz to support on Fridays. Take a picture of your purchase and share online under “I #BUYBLACKEVERYFRIDAY. Challenge your friends to get their post up before you. The last person to post buys a drink/appetizer/lunch for the first person to post each week.

Make It Rain Version:

Every Monday, pick a BOBz and email their contact information to your entire email list. Let your contacts know that you are making the conscious choice to fight racism and income disparity by supporting this business. Ask them to spend $1 or more at this business and email you a picture of their receipt by Thursday. On Friday, match the amount your friends invested during the week.

3. Organize a CA$H MOB

This is probably the hardest to do because you will need the cooperation of a group of at least 10 people (including yourself) to really make an impact. First, pick a BOBz you are absolutely nuts about-- if you don’t care, why should your friends and family? Contact the business owner and let them know you would like to organize a CA$H Mob on their behalf. The owner will usually offer your group a discount, free food, or some other tangible benefit (we business owners love when someone else does the advertising for us!) for supporting them.

Set a date that works for the owner and is convenient for the people in your networks too, like Saturday afternoon or Wednesday evening during happy hour. Plan your CA$H MOB at least two weeks out so you have time to promote it. Make a Facebook event and invite everyone you know! Generally, for every five people you invite that say yes, one or two will show up.

Make the event public so that others can come support the business as well. Be sure to include the name, address, and website for the business on the Facebook page, as well as any relevant housekeeping information (limited parking on the street, parking lot is around back, etc.) so shoppers know what to expect. Set a clear start and end time for your CA$H MOB. The idea is to boost the business by capitalizing on the Jones effect-- no one wants to be first, so by creating a ‘mob’ of shoppers you help validate the business as successful and popular.

Spare Change Version:

Short on funds? Why not host a digital cash mob for a favorite online shop. All the advertising is free and there is no legwork involved. Remember, the most important part is to pick a business you feel passionate enough about to ‘sell’ their vision to your friends and family. Digital CA$H MOBS run for one full day. For a list of BOBz online, click here.

Game Change Version:

Maximize the impact of your CA$H MOB by attaching it to a social group you are already involved with. PTA Mom? Why not organize a Back-to-school CA$H MOB at a BOBz retailer? Fantasy Footballer? CA$H MOB a Black Owner bar or restaurant during the playoffs or on SuperBowl Sunday! Remember to contact the business owner ahead of time so you can plan the event as co-conspirators.

Make It Rain Version:

Pick four friends that live in other states and challenge them to a CA$H MOB challenge. All five of you plan, organize and execute CA$H MOBs in your respective cities. Ask the store owner if they feel comfortable letting you know how much revenue they raised the day of the CA$H MOB. The friend whose business raised the most money wins the challenge,and the other four friends match the amount raised by the most successful CA$H MOB. You can give the winnings to a local charity or scholarship fund, donate it to the Detroit Water Project, which matches donations to turn back on the water for over 100,000 Detroit residents who are without running water; or even use it to buy meals for one of the half a million people living on the streets this winter.

4. Have a White Black Christmas:

Think about what you still have left to buy for Christmas. Now imagine that you wake up tomorrow and eighty percent of what is in your bank account is gone. The amount you have left is about what your black and brown neighbors are working with this Christmas.

Challenge yourself to do 80-100% of your christmas shopping at BOBz this and every year. Not sure where to find the BOBz in your area? See our list below:

PurchaseBlack.com

Quirky Brown Love’s Ultimate BOBz Holiday Guide

Soul Reflectionz Black Owned Business Holiday Shopping Guide

50 Gift Ideas That Support BOBz and Black Causes

Can I Talk My Ish Comprehensive Guide to Buying Black Year Round

Essence Magazine’s 88 BOBz to Support This Holiday Season

Me-to-We Interactive BOBZ Map

Bougie Black Girl’s Guide to 20 Black Owned Online Fashion and Beauty Businesses

The Rouge Collection: Boycott Black Friday and Buy Black

5 Black Owned Food Brands to Look For in Your Grocery Store

Hello Beautiful 8 Ways to Support Black Owned Businesses

The Sista Circle 131 Black Online Stores

Official Black Wall Street

Spare Change Version: This Christmas...

Game Change Version: ... Until Easter

Make It Rain Version: Every year from Christmas until Easter

5. Seed a BOBz Startup

I’m going to tell you a secret. If you get the Grande dark roast in a Venti cup with a syrup mix in and add your own cream, it tastes exactly the same as a latte and is $1.25 cheaper.

That’s $6.25 a week, $25 a month; $300 a year you’re spending on pressurized air. Why not take that money and invest it in a Black Owned Business (BOBz)?

Minority businesses received  Less than 1% of 98 billion dollars in venture capital funding given out in 2015. Even so, Black women start businesses at six times the rate of the national average. #BlackGirlsRock.

Help close the gap by investing $25 each month in BOBz. You can share the wealth, or pick a business whose message you personally connect to and support them all year long.

You won’t miss it. Starbucks won’t miss it. It’s just a little change.

And a big one too.

Spare Change Version:

Invest five dollars a week in a different BOBz startup and share the startup through your social networks. Not only will you personally be contributing $260 in seed money to 52 businesses every year, you will be exponentially maximizing the chance of success for the startup, helping even the odds for minority business owners.

Game Change Version:

Calculate how much you spend on a monthly basis on indulgence purchases (like Starbucks Latte’s or Gel Mani/Pedi’s). Cut your indulgence spending in half and use the money to seed BOBz startups. Let your social networks know what you gave up and where you redirected the money using hashtag #IGAVEALITTLECHANGE. Your small sacrifice could spark a national movement.

Make It Rain Version:

Choose a crowdfunded startup that has particular significance to a status group you are a member of and commit to fundraise for them during the duration of their campaign. Homeowner? Why not choose a residential landscaping company like Hawkeye? Are you a mother or grandmother of young girls? Check out Princess Planet Fundraiser, a children’s entertainment brand that promotes princess characters of diverse cultural backgrounds.

Ask everyone you know that belongs to the same status group to support the business of your choice by donating at least five dollars a week to the startup. Match the funds you helped generate on a bi-weekly or monthly basis. Ask the business owner if they feel comfortable with you hosting a celebration banquet in their honor at the end of the crowdfunding campaign. By getting to know the owner of the business you helped start, you are laying the foundation for a lifelong friendship!

101 Black Crowdfunding Campaigns

1. Get Leslie Into SAG  ONLY 26 Hours left!
2. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/881554774/i-can-the-origin-of-afr-i-can-amer-i-can?ref=nav_search
3. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/622950894/unleashing-african-entreprenerial-potential?ref=nav_search
4. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1905925933/aphro?ref=nav_search
5. http://gofund.me/x459pc3s
6. https://www.gofundme.com/GMOODYCONSTRUCTION
7. https://www.gofundme.com/coriemoment
8. https://www.gofundme.com/PrincessPlanet
9. https://www.gofundme.com/swagcouture
10. https://www.gofundme.com/trooperfitness
11. https://www.gofundme.com/kalerevolution
12. https://www.gofundme.com/brestylez
13. https://www.gofundme.com/ddac9kec
14. https://www.gofundme.com/sfxw38
15. https://www.gofundme.com/bhamlawnman
16. https://www.gofundme.com/533x5w
17. https://www.gofundme.com/zxg8s5w5w
18. https://www.gofundme.com/mdkgrilledcheese
19. https://www.gofundme.com/G-E-E-FUND
20. https://www.gofundme.com/bff2cos
21. https://www.gofundme.com/HelpHeartforHair
22. https://www.gofundme.com/Legalempowerment
23. https://www.gofundme.com/Arrins
24. https://www.gofundme.com/theidea
25. https://www.gofundme.com/Car-Finder
26. https://www.gofundme.com/letsgettrucking
27. https://www.gofundme.com/3jlp5s
28. https://www.gofundme.com/themobileparlor
29. https://www.gofundme.com/missiebranch
30. https://www.gofundme.com/HakunaMatata_Liz
31. https://www.gofundme.com/supportservpal
32. https://www.gofundme.com/i17ue4
33. https://www.gofundme.com/WeWantTheAfterGlow
34. https://www.gofundme.com/BigMosaicAd1
35. https://www.gofundme.com/xf22f-nadine
36. https://www.gofundme.com/rbt976p
37. https://www.gofundme.com/f73b7q3ba3bg8
38. https://www.gofundme.com/tangocharlie
39. https://www.gofundme.com/MykeJohnson
40. https://www.gofundme.com/thrust
41. https://www.gofundme.com/ichoosetowin
42. https://www.gofundme.com/kravensrestaurant
43. https://www.gofundme.com/nyo108
44. https://www.gofundme.com/MarcLeadersForum
45. https://www.gofundme.com/cupcakeandasmile
46. https://www.gofundme.com/hbp5h6pu
47. https://www.gofundme.com/55ojes
48. https://www.gofundme.com/9tpk50
49. https://www.gofundme.com/BlackGroceryStore
50. https://www.gofundme.com/p32yxzaa
51. https://www.gofundme.com/harvestcafe-gifts
52. https://www.gofundme.com/philly247childcare
53. https://www.gofundme.com/nbwrrc
54. https://www.gofundme.com/andreadavies
55. https://www.gofundme.com/happyhustlin
56. https://www.gofundme.com/melindamichelle
57. https://www.gofundme.com/ms3t95j5
58. https://www.gofundme.com/u62jrph9
59. https://www.gofundme.com/hkbtsg
60. https://www.gofundme.com/jenadominique1
61. https://www.gofundme.com/Modelingcareerfund
62. https://www.gofundme.com/8r7ykda9hw
63. https://www.gofundme.com/CalhounStartUP
64. https://www.gofundme.com/anotherplanet
65. https://www.gofundme.com/ChefNef
66. https://www.gofundme.com/MichaelADesigns
67. https://www.gofundme.com/sadefundraiser
68. https://www.gofundme.com/ANUGNYclothing
69. https://www.gofundme.com/xsv4mys
70. https://www.gofundme.com/blutv
71. https://www.gofundme.com/ESHA-and-Company
72. https://www.gofundme.com/6faw0
73. https://www.gofundme.com/alt-therapy
74. https://www.gofundme.com/soulshack
75. https://www.gofundme.com/ckf7lo
76. https://www.gofundme.com/zvy9sfg
77. https://www.gofundme.com/CALL-CHEFSERVICESTRUCK
78. https://www.gofundme.com/loveyourself1st
79. https://www.gofundme.com/TheLadiesRoom
80. https://www.gofundme.com/Hot-Yoga-for-You
81. https://www.gofundme.com/Mama-Made-need-a-blessing
82. https://www.gofundme.com/11ms38
83. https://www.gofundme.com/3f6ow4
84. https://www.gofundme.com/ProjectKitchen
85. https://www.gofundme.com/SOLAR-POWERED-HOT-CUP
86. https://www.gofundme.com/1bp9nw
87. https://www.gofundme.com/1cmg7g
88. https://www.gofundme.com/PeachesSweets
89. https://www.gofundme.com/ColorMeRich
90. https://www.gofundme.com/17k52s
91. https://www.gofundme.com/w2ddb4m
92. https://www.gofundme.com/thesavage
93. https://www.gofundme.com/adams-man-for-hire
94. https://www.gofundme.com/cqgz9c
95. https://www.gofundme.com/911HairSalonFerg
96. https://www.gofundme.com/htnohk
97. https://www.gofundme.com/hs9kik
98. https://www.gofundme.com/hxfd9s
99. https://www.gofundme.com/hxl8mg
100. https://www.gofundme.com/huyqqc
101. Help Ferguson Rebuild

This is by no means a comprehensive list. If you own a BOBz or BOBz startup please add it in the comments section below. Include contact info and Facebook link if you have one. Check out my BOBz, Golden Goddess Cosmetics, and get 25% off on Fridays with code BUYBLACKEVERYFRIDAY.