‘Tis the season for spending. As you make last minute gift, grocery and service purchases, how many of the businesses are black owned? If you struggle to answer that question, the Black Lives Matter organization in partnership with ad agency J. Walter Thompson New York, is expanding your shopping options.

The organization launched the Backing Black Businesses website to connect consumers with black-owned businesses throughout the nation. The Google Map based site allows shoppers to search businesses by category and zip code to find nearby black-owned businesses. The site, which currently lists over 300 businesses, allows entrepreneurs to add their business locations to the database.

"[The partnership] started with four creatives who had a passion to support Black Lives Matter," JWT New York CCO Brent Choi said according to AdWeek. "They came up with an idea, and we presented it to them. Through a number of conversations, it became clear that we didn't just want to offer ideas, but to be a partner to the organization and the movement. We believe in the power of ideas to change behavior, so this relationship became a perfect marriage."

Black-owned businesses are a staple in the Black community, providing jobs & economic security. #BackingBlackBusiness pic.twitter.com/a2RDffleDt

— Black Lives Matter (@Blklivesmatter) December 19, 2016

Black-owned businesses skyrocketed in 2016 with black women outpacing all other startups by six times the national average. Patronizing black-owned businesses is an important part of supporting this movement. In these uncertain times, we need to seek out more ways to uplift each other at all costs.

Click here to add your business to the directory.

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