EDITORIAL: Support black-owned businesses

It’s time for the Humboldt community to start supporting black-owned businesses

Humboldt County is a predominantly white community. According to Data USA 75.4 percent of the population is made up of white residents. When it comes to the business ownership aspect the numbers are even lower. While they exist, there is a lack of black-owned businesses. According to the United States Census Bureau, as of 2012 only 1,853 minority owned businesses around Humboldt County, meanwhile non-minority businesses make up 10,333 in Humboldt County.

It’s important for us as students to highlight a lack of diverse groups around the Arcata community, as we strive to be a university that prides itself in having a diverse group of students.

There are some black-owned businesses that are around Humboldt County. Over at Eureka there is Dewy’s Beauty Boutique that stocks ethnic hair care products. However, their products are on the expensive side for students who are already on a tight budget. If there were more business that provided this need, it’d be a different reality for many students.

Last month, the Eureka NAACP chapter spoke about how important it is to support black businesses around Humboldt County, as it shows love and support to the black Humboldt communities. There are black-owned businesses like A Taste of Bim, Sistah’s Vegan and Shine Aesthetic just to name a few.

In the first episode of Michael Santiago Render’s Netflix series “Killer Mike’s Trigger Warning,” Render lives three days supporting only black businesses in Atlanta, Georgia. However this proves to be difficult for Render, as there are no black-owned hotels or even foods in some cases, leaving him hungry and sleeping on public benches. The take-away from this episode is to highlight how sparse black businesses are in the USA.

Luckily, there are some clubs, organizations and events to help with diversifying our community. The Multicultural Center at HSU is a student-led organization that helps the diverse student population, while also being open to everyone who is interested. They work closely with the D street community center to hold their events, such as the Home Away From Home Potluck. Also, there’s the African American Center, the Latinx center and the Native American center (ITEPP). All these organizations offer services and plan events for students and the community.

The next locally black-owned businesses coming to campus is Shine Aesthetic and Dewy’s Pop Up. They’ll be on campus Wednesday Feb.13 from 2-5 p.m. at the African American Center for Academic Excellence in Nelson Hall 206. It’s up to us as a community to support them and other black-owned businesses as they come to Humboldt.