The Rev. Frederick D. Haynes III, the pastor of Friendship-West Baptist Church, has rallied his 12,000 parishioners to patronize Black-owned companies in an effort to create Black wealth.
According to World Population Review, Texas has the highest population of Black Americans in the U.S. with 3,936,669, or about 14% of the state's total population.
Tulsa Race Massacre
"100 Days of Buying Black" (100DBB) started on September 23 to December 31, coinciding with the centennial celebration of the Tulsa Race Massacre, which took place on May 31 and June 1, when city officials armed White residents to attack Black residents, killing them and destroying their homes in Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Considered one of the worst incidents of racism in the history of the United States, the Tulsa Race Massacre is also known as the Tulsa pogrom.
By revitalizing the financial base of the Black people nationwide, the campaign's goal is to continue on the legacy of Black Wall Road to honor those who perished in the massacre.
Black Buying Power
Black Enterprise, on the website, said that Black buying power is now at $1.1 trillion and is expected to reach $1.5 trillion by 2021. This means that black spending patterns are now well within the radar of marketers to study how to take advantage of the nearly $2 trillion generated annually through Black Americans.
In Texas, Black buying power is at $148 billion in 2020.
Tapping into these resources, Rev. Haynes is challenging the members of Friendship-West Baptist Church and others to be "committed to economic justice in supporting Black-owned businesses, advocating for just lending practices, and working towards comprehensive sustainable community development."
To help build more substantial support for Black enterprises, 100 DBB has provided a platform for Black entrepreneurs to promote their products and services and sell the same at West Wall Street.
The organization further states on their website that they are "seeking to encourage people across the nation to spend their dollars with Black-owned businesses for 100 days to increase the sales and growth of those businesses."
Response
Dallas Morning News reported that as of November 23, 1,500 have already registered for the campaign. Through these people who responded to the campaign, over $300,000 have so far been spent patronizing products and services offered by Black entrepreneurs.
Desirous of more participants, Haynes said that these figures do not count for all Blacks in Texas, the state being number one in terms of Black buying power, followed by New York with $141 billion.
To ensure that this campaign will really have an impact, Rev. Haynes' church is working in close partnership with other organizations, such as Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference.
Established in 2003, SDPC is composed of African American church leaders and their congregations all over the country, which aims to unite Black Americans to engage the community in issues relevant to the Black people.
