The ongoing protests against police brutality
and racial injustices have pressured major corporations to address these issues by using their massive fortunes to advance social change and provide more opportunities for marginalized groups. In addition to corporate accountability, Kezia M. Williams, the CEO of The Black upStart, is calling for those aligned with the Black Lives Matter movement to protest with their dollars.Williams partnered with Torrence Reed, the CEO of Zoom Technologies; Darryl Perkins, the co-founder of Broccoli City; Talib Graves Manns, CEO of Knox Street Studios, and thought leader 19 Keys to launch the My Black Receipt campaign, which encourages protesters to spend their money with Black-owned businesses and post their receipts on social media.
According to Williams, the My Black Receipt movement generated over $5 million in revenue for Black-owned businesses. The initiative has recorded over 18,000 consumers participating in the social media challenge since its launch on Juneteenth this year.
“We are starting to talk about how this technology can incentivize buying Black long-term, not just in response to protests, and how we can build community around the recirculation of the dollar using technology,” said Williams, according to Because of Them We Can.
She added that she hopes to use the data collected to learn more about spending habits, sectors, and cities as well as consumer preference between online and traditional shopping to aid Black businesses.