The people and brands we interact with are always a diverse mix because we take extra care to make it that way. We wanted to show love to our current favorites for Black History Month, check out our curated list, from artists to musicians to non-profit organizations:
Supporting Black Businesses and Creatives / Like Those Represented on Our Marketplace and Webshop:
- Botánica Cimarrón is the queer future of Caribbean folk healing. For the revolutionaries of the world, we create powerful plant medicines and spiritual tools. Their products are crafted with love and ceremony in small batches by 2-Spirit Afro Taino founder Catherine Feliz (they/them).
- Christl Creations (coming very soon!) was founded July 2020 with the mission to create accessible feminist art that shows the interiority of Black women.
- Un-Defined Beauty makes clean, conscious, and inclusive skincare with the magic of plants, and aims to democratize wellness.
(*We only have 6 marketplace brands in total right now but we’re growing! Expect more BIPOC creators soon.*)
Learning and Unlearning / With Anti Racism Daily:
We signed up for Anti Racism Daily’s 28 Days of Black History Newsletter and it is an awesome dive into Black Legacy within in the United States. It's a multi-faceted and thought provoking series – and some of the contributions to society might surprise you. The one sent on Day 22 detailed the origin of the high-five as being credited to Glenn Burke, the first openly gay black MLB baseball player back in '77. I know it's a little late to sign up but you can check out previous issues of the newsletter, here – and sign up for the remaining days, here.
Anti Racism Daily has a popular Instagram account and newsletter that features tactical action you can take for fighting racism every day. If you don’t follow/subscribe, you should.
The founder and editor-in-chief, Nicole Cardoza, can be booked for speaking events – wouldn't it be cool to have her for your next work training? I would love to learn from her. You can also subscribe to Anti Racism Daily's Patreon or make a one time contribution to support their work (which is free to the public and funded by contributions).
Reading / History:
1 New York Times Bestseller Four Hundred Souls
Each chapter is contributed by a prominent Black writer and details one part of the 400 year journey of African Americans in the United States.
Dr. Keisha N. Blain and Ibram X. Kendi each have a long list of accolades.
Dr. Blain is an award-winning historian of 20th century United States with interest in African American History, the modern African Diaspora, and Women's and Gender Studies. She is also a professor, published author, and editor.
Ibram X. Kendi is a historian and anti-racist scholar, a professor, an author (of seven books!), and one of Time Magazine's 100 most influential people.
Listening / The Pioneers of Punk:
Pure Hell is an early ‘70s punk rock band from Philly. The history of punk feels so white washed when you think about the oft mentioned artists of that time, but black musicians played a large role in the punk rock scene.
- Death was a proto-punk band from Detroit, MI making punk music before it was even a thing
- Bad Brains formed in D.C. in the late 70s and are largely considered the fathers of “positive” hardcore. Their inventive, genre-defying musical style made them one of the greats, influencing their contemporaries and many new artists to come like the Beastie Boys and Nirvana.
Donating / Non-Profit Organizations:
- National Black Justice Coalition's mission is to end racism, homophobia, and LGBTQ+/SGL bias and stigma.
- Black Lives Matter is a global organization who's mission is to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes.
- Black Girls Code provides young and pre-teen girls of color opportunities to learn in-demand skills in tech and computer programming.
- Well Read Black Girl Festival's goal is to address inequalities and improve communities through reading and reflecting on the works of Black women.
- NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund is America's premier legal organization fighting for racial justice.
- Look for organizations, non-profits, and volunteer opportunities at the local level in your area!
More / Black-Owned Businesses We Love:
- Well Read Black Girl is creating a writing community for Black & POC writers. Join their patreon, here.
- Base Butter makes the #1 aloe vera gel basked moisturizer in an effort to make skincare easy and to help create a world where we all feel protected and comfortable in our skin.
- Mented Cosmetics believes that every woman should be able to find herself in the world of beauty, no matter her skin tone.
- The Coy Collection connects functional artwork to self care and love through feel good ceramic wares. Each piece is a little reminder that your body and home are worthy of smiles, love, and warmth.
- Aya Paper Co is a sustainable stationery brand that creates greeting cards and gifts to help you celebrate the people and moments that matter most.
Support black owned business, creatives, makers, and non-profits outside of Black History Month too. Continue to take the initiative to learn about the contributions that black people have made to our history and the context of those contributions. Don't be performative 💟
Hope you enjoyed this list of black-owned brands, organizations, books, bands, and creatives that we're loving on lately.
Thanks for reading!
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