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‘My Black Receipt’ Campaign Aims To Boost Black Businesses

A new initiative is encouraging consumers to spend $5 million with Black entrepreneurs.

An initiative aimed at boosting African-American-owned businesses is gaining momentum amid recent calls for racial justice and consumers are being encouraged to spend $5 million by July 6 and make more than a single purchase.

“My Black Receipt” asks people to upload their receipts from Black businesses onto its website, according to CNN. The program was started by Black upStart, which aims at training Black entrepreneurs which was founded by Kezia Williams, who also leads the United Negro College Fund’s national entrepreneurship initiative.

"When you invest and purchase from a Black-owned business, what you're really doing is strengthening the Black community," Williams said to CNN.

Williams said she was inspired to launch the program with partners from other groups including HBCU Wall Street, Broccoli City, The Black Standard and Knox St. Studios by the urgent need for building wealth in the Black community. Statistics from a report published by Prosperity Now and the Institute for Policy Studies show African-American median wealth could be as low as $0 by 2053.

With new attention being placed on social justice and racial reconciliation over the past several months, Williams said now is the best time to think about economics in the Black community and that it’s time for people to "put their receipts where their protest is.”

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