Why Don’t Black People Own The Black Hair Care Industry?
By Dr Boyce Watkins Phd
I was intrigued by a recent call for a boycott of non-black beauty supply stores by Professor Devin Robinson. I wasn’t intrigued by the boycott out of a desire to endorse or oppose the movement. My imagination was captured by the reasons that someone might consider a boycott. According to Professor Robinson, African Americans represent 96% of the consumption in beauty supply stores, but only 5% of the ownership.
Robinson is planning his boycott for the week of November 16 – November 22, to be launched in St. Louis. This will be the same week as our rally in support of a black woman, Heather Ellis, who is facing 15 years in prison for cutting line at a Walmart. It will be interesting to see if the boycott of the haircare industry raises awareness. I personally applaud the idea of finding constructive ways for African Americans to engage in more business ownership. Chris Rock’s recent film, ‘Good Hair’ got us talking about the importance of hair in the lives of black women, and perhaps now is the time for a regime shift. At the very least, one can argue that an industry that takes so much from the black community should be expected to give something back. But this trade will never occur if black women and men are not conscious about where we are purchasing our haircare products.
A documentary presented below by Aron Ranen (he seemed to want me to know that he is a white man) breaks down the industry and presents some disturbing realities that black people may have to confront when we think carefully about how much money we are giving away. Consumers are relatively weak when compared to producers of valuable commodities. African Americans must stop focusing solely on consumption and find paths toward ownership.
The documentary is below, enjoy!
Boyce Watkins is a Finance Professor at Syracuse University and author of the book, “Black American Money.” To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.
Source: Black Voices
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