It’s no secret that when it comes to cosmetics, we’re often challenged to find products to match our varying hues. As a black woman who faced this challenge while rummaging through beauty megastores such as Sephora, Angie Coleman decided to create a digital solution to that problem and many more.

BuyBlack is a Chrome extension that helps online shoppers find black-owned alternatives to more popular brands. Here’s how it works: Simply go to a shopping website using your Google Chrome browser, click on the black fist in the top right corner and out scrolls a list of black-owned alternatives for your needs.

black-owned businesses — Photo: Fusion.com

Although the advent of her new Chrome extension provides a practical solution to a prevalent problem, it also serves the larger purpose of driving black dollars to black-owned businesses. Her goal is to eventually allow users to submit businesses to the database and even select their personal favorites.

Coleman is no stranger to digital activism. She is the programs and outreach director for the Reboot Safety Hackathon. The Hackathon brought together coders and entrepreneurs in San Francisco and New York to work toward creating new tools and companies to end police violence and other social injustices. Leveraging technology to advance social justice in a way that focuses on economic empowerment is something she is very passionate about.

In an interview with Fusion, Coleman expressed her belief that a strong black economy will help the community fight police violence and other forms of injustice. “No one else is supporting us,” she said. “So we have to support ourselves.”

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Angie Coleman

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