Ways to Support the San Diego Black Community

Within just the past few weeks, these four humans lost their lives either by police brutality or by racial violence. Over the past year and beyond, this list is obviously much longer, but, thanks to live streaming, social media, and camera phones, the world is now bearing witness to just some of the horrors that Black people face every day. No one should have to fight against injustice alone. This is a movement that needs individuals of all races to stand together. 

As protests and marches throughout San Diego continue to take place, it can be easy to feel lost, confused, or powerless. However, there are countless ways that you can take action in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and the Black community. At So Diego Tours, we are committed to being an influential ally for equality, so we’ve compiled a few lists of resources to use for all of us to become better allies to the San Diego Black community. From where to donate to a list of Black owned businesses in San Diego, read on to learn how you can become an ally.

Donate to Organizations Combating Racial Injustice

Photo Courtesy: Picha

  • NAACP San Diego
    • Ensuring the political, educational, social, and economic equality of minority citizens in San Diego and eliminating race prejudice. 
  • Black Lives Matter San Diego
    • Fighting for freedom, liberation, and justice by building local power to hold law enforcement accountable for their actions.
  • March for Black Womxn SD (M4BWSD)
    • Marching to denounce the propagation of state-violence and the widespread incarceration of Black women and girls, rape and sexualized violence, the murders and brutilization of transwomen and the disappearances of girls from our streets, schools, and homes.
  • North County African American Women’s Association (NCAAWA)
    • Providing a support network through education, health awareness, and life skills programs for women and girls in San Diego North County to increase their self-sufficiency.
  • Alliance for African Assistance
    • Addressing the many needs of San Diego’s growing African refugee population.

Shop and Support Black-owned Businesses

Courtesy Black Diego Magazine, Spoiled Vegan Cafe

Individual buying power is real, and buyers have the power to better distribute wealth in America. If we’ve learned anything in the past couple of years, in regards to buying power, it’s that people are what gives companies power and mass movements have the power to effect long term change. By supporting a black owned business, we can redistribute the wealth to this community.

San Diego Black Owned Restaurants & Eateries

A great way to support the Black community is by contributing our buying power towards Black owned businesses in San Diego. If you plan on eating out or grabbing a cup of morning coffee, consider supporting one of the following Black owned restaurants or coffee shops:

Black Owned Businesses in San Diego (non-eateries)

Aside

Black Owned Helping Hand and Non-Profit Organizations

  • Plant Heart Meals
    • Provides plant based meals, groceries, toiletries, feminine hygiene products and services such as free haircuts and job help to the East Village community.
  • Raok (Random Acts of Kindness) Tribe
    • Bi-Monthly clothing and food drives where they provide food, clothing, and toiletries for the less fortunate.
  • Sleeves of Success
    • Their mission is “to inspire and ignite change through fashion.” Profits from their sales go to food and clothing drives and services for the homeless.
  • We Tha Plug
    • Their mission is to create a super ecosystem of Panafrican and Latino Founders, Venture Capitalists, and Angel Investors.

Reasons Why Supporting Black-Owned is Important

  1. The origins of today’s racial wealth gap can be traced to practices from the Jim Crow era. Redlining and job discrimination segregated African Americans from higher paying jobs. Today, the median wealth for white families is about 12 times that for Black families, and one in four Black households have zero or negative net worth (compared to one in ten white families). By 2053, the median wealth for Black families is projected to fall to zero.
  2. Banks often hinder the prosperity of communities by discriminating against African American and other entrepreneurs of color seeking business loans. A 2017 study by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition found that banks were twice as likely to provide business loans to white applicants than Black ones.
  3. Many Black business owners fund their own businesses due to lack of capital. This means that most Black owned businesses are sole proprietorships that don’t make enough money to pay employees. 
  4. When they are able to hire employees, they are more likely to hire from the local community. Supporting Black owned can help foster job opportunities for people to achieve financial stability.
  5. Not only do Black business owners have less easy access to capital, but many Black businesses are more vulnerable now than ever given the impact of COVID-19. Last Week, the Washington Post reported that the number of working African American business owners in the United States dropped more than 40%.
  6. When you buy from people of color, you get a melting pot of products that are valuable for the unique character they bring, and help to celebrate the diversity of all cultures. Diversity and inclusivity builds economic vitality.
  7. African Americans and other minorities often bear the brunt of corporate discrimination. Your money can be used to hold companies accountable and empower successful minority-owned businesses. When you vote with your dollar, you are voting for an inclusive economy.

Supporting Black owned businesses, however, doesn’t just fall on individual folks. Aurora Ames of Brother Vellies is calling on larger corporations to stock 15% of their inventory from Black-owned businesses. By supporting Black-owned businesses, we can create more opportunities for meaningful savings, property ownership, credit building, and generational wealth.

How to Be an Ally: Do’s and Don’ts

Do:

  • Be open to listening and accepting criticism with grace even when it’s uncomfortable
  • Be aware of your implicit biases
  • Do your research to learn more about the history of the struggle in which you are participating
  • Use your privilege to amplify historically suppressed voices

Don’t:

  • Expect to be taught or shown. Take it upon yourself to do the research, and use the tools around you to learn.
  • Resist the urge to compare how your struggle is “just as bad” as a marginalized persons.
  • “Whitesplain”
  • Take credit for the labor of those who are marginalized before you stepped into the picture.
  • Assume that racism doesn’t exist because you don’t see it.

Miles McPherson, former San Diego Charger and senior pastor at The Rock explained that last “don’t” perfectly. He said, “We live in a right-handed world, and the majority of the right-handed people don’t even realize this. But every single lefty notices it, every single day when they go to write something down, when they need to look for a catcher’s mitt. That blind spot that the rest of us don’t feel is ‘right privilege.’ 

However, he said, “once you understand your privilege, don’t apologize for having it, because it’s an advantage that is out of your control. Instead, know that you can leverage your experiences and advantages for the benefit of others.”

Be an Ally, Support the Black Community Today

Anyone has the potential to be an ally to victims of any form of oppression, whether it be racism, sexism, ableism, classism, or any of the isms by recognizing privilege and using it to walk alongside the oppressed. We hope this list of San Diego Black owned businesses helped, however, it is by no means an exhaustive list. You can become a better ally by making the conscious effort to educate yourself, by showing up, and by investing in underinvested and oppressed communities not just while it’s in fashion, but every day.

Authors: Ahmaud Arbery. Breonna Taylor. Tony McDade. George Floyd.

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