With new condos and middle-class faces moving back into cities, Black businesses are starting to struggle even as new wealth enters their neighborhood. In a word, it’s gentrification and it eats up most black businesses. Anyone who has ever tried to be an entrepreneur and start their own business can understand how hard it is when you lose your customer base to mainstream businesses. We can no longer afford to let this happen in the black community. We must continue to support each other. As one of my colleagues said in a previous post, “Have a Black Summer.” Wondering how you can find black businesses when you’re in certain areas of the country? Try the Black Dollar Days Task Force and their African American Business Directory.

The Black Dollar Days Task Force is a 501(c)(3) organization founded in Seattle, Washington in November of 1988 with the intent of promoting the principles of self-help and self-determination through economic justice. The members and supporters of the Task Force are confident in our movement to decrease social service dependency through the revitalization of our community. The organization provides black businesses with guidance, financial support and most of all – exposure.

The African American Business Directory, now in its 17th edition, gets tons of publicity thanks to the Black Dollar Days Task Force. The directory is a priceless tool to over 15,000 consumers seeking the services and products that businesses provide in the Greater Seattle, Tacoma, Lacey/Olympia, Vancouver and Portland areas. The BDDTF is trying to expand the directory and simply ask that you contact them if you are interested in listing your business.

Let’s not let our black businesses die. Make an effort to support.