South

Why Black American Made?

Why BAM!? Ever wonder WHY major grocery, department, 'big box' and even online stores rarely do you find more than a few products made by Black manufacturers? Each of these store sells over 50,000 products! How does it make you feel that they sell very few Black American made products?

The next time you're in Kroger, Wal-Mart, Aldi, Target, Meijir, Walgreen, Costco, Macy's, Home Depot, Amazon, etc. try this experiment, especially if you have children with you, make it a 'teachable moment'. Politely, ask the store manager to direct you to products made by Black manufacturers. Ask him/her are they open to selling more Black made products. This strategy works extremely well in grocery stores. Black people may not make 'hammers', but we definitely know how to make food, hair and skin care products!

Obviously, our ancestors, e.g., GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER, MADAME C.J. WALKER, DR. CHARLES DREW... knew how to make and sell quality products. Today, just like we excel in sports, entertainment, politics, education, religion...with a level playing field we can do the same in manufacturing.

Historically, Black unemployment is always 2 -3 times higher than the national average. Our primary mission for BAM! is to create jobs and business opportunities. Initially, our objective is to become a portal to help consumers re-direct at least $1 Billion (#Billion$March) annually towards quality Black American Made products.

BAM! will be a model to showcase quality Black manufacturers. While online Black business directories are important, our strategy is similar to the Made In America movement, where the focus is more on the product! Unfortunately, most Black owned businesses may only sell a few, if any, Black made products. We believe like most successful American businesses to first create a supreme product, which can grow into a great business.

A quality Black made product may end up in thousands of locations/stores...a Black owned business generally will only be in one location and mostly sell products not made by Black people.

To win, WE must create a paradigm shift in our actions and focus on Black folks that make quality products that could grow into major businesses. This is what all other groups do...that's why they're winning!

Below I have listed some Action Steps you can take to help spread the word that Black American Made is important to the American economy.

- Use social networking like Facebook and Twitter and share pages like this one and similar pages that promote Black American Made products.
- Write your favorite stores and tell them you would like to see them stock and promote Black Made products.
- You can reach most companies through their website and yes, if they get enough requests, they will move on it.
- Create demand for Black American Made products by buying them, requesting them, etc.
- Arm yourself with knowledge about the issues and why is it important.

Also we'll create a certification label for Black American Made products. This will help consumers know what products are made by Black manufacturers.

We know we can't keep doing the same things and expect a different result. It's past time we do something different, BAM!

We've Registered to Vote, let's Pledge to Buy!

http://blackamericanmade.com/take-pledge-register/

You need to be a member of TheBlackList Pub to add comments!

Join TheBlackList Pub

Votes: 0
Email me when people reply –

Replies

  • How did the "few products made by Black manufacturers" get on the shelves of  "major grocery, department, 'big box' and even online stores"?

    • South

      I'll use my product as an example. After trying my products several people suggested I contact Whole Foods Market about selling #icesupreme. The store buyers gave me an opportunity to carry my brand. It was based on consumers DEMANDING they carry it and more folks wanted to buy it. Recently, Ben & Jerry's ice cream got 30K people to pledge to buy a 'vegan ice cream' from them, so B&J started making a vegan product for that Demand! Our goal is to do something similar with BAM! Please take our BAM! Pledge http://blackamericanmade.com/take-pledge-register/ and ask others to do the same.

  • Europe

    May I suggest that you make folks aware of which products African Americans make and from which companies they own so they will know which products to suggest retailers buy to sell.

    Best regards,

    Arlene Johnson

    Publisher/Author

    http://www.truedemocracy.net

    To access my e-zine, click on the icon that says Magazine.

    True Democracy
    • South

      Hi, thank you for your reply concerning BAM! Before today the site was still under construction, now we've added some of the products available through BAM! In the coming days/week we'll add hundreds!
      We would appreciate your support, please take our Pledge and Register....

      http://blackamericanmade.com/take-pledge-register/

This reply was deleted.
https://theblacklist.net/