We had to let Jay-Z kick it off for us. See the lyrics.
They say Black Consumerism is at an all-time high. A 2016 study shows that Black buying power was expected to reach $1.2 trillion alone.
However, the average household salary for Black families was $43,300 in 2014, far behind the $71,300 average salary for white families in that same year — the latest recorded data year via Pew Research Center.
Side note: Over 44% of Jewish families made over $100,000/yr in 2014, the highest amongst all religious groups.
So there’s a disparity here. The Black average income is lacking behind Whites, but consumerism is very high. This shouldn’t come as a surprise to many of you reading this, as many of you have said that the products and platforms you are on (i.e. Social Media, shopping websites) wouldn’t survive without Black people — and you may be correct.
But who owns the website, product, network or publication you are using? This is where the wealth/income gap may come into play.
Inspired by Jay-Z‘s 4:44 album, and our own surprise to find out that Essence Magazine — who predominately caters to African-American women — isn’t Black Owned, we did a little digging to find out what other companies & products are out there that either 1. cater primarily to African-Americans or 2. are used/favored by African-Americans, that are Black-Owned.
WHY WE DID THIS
Awareness is 100% key. Before we change our individual habits, there has to be awareness.
For example, many people may say that “marching (protesting) outside for Black rights” doesn’t change any laws — and they may be correct. However, without the march many people would not have known there was a major issue in the first place, or may not have taken the issues seriously.
That’s why awareness is essential.
Now, this may ruffle some of your feathers a little — especially if you are associated with the product or brand below — but we feel we owe it to the African-American public to know where their money eventually ends up in the grand scheme of things.
This comes into play when platform/service owners secure money from investors due to its “growing” number of users, eventually increasing their own wealth.
There just had to be awareness. That’s why we’re doing this.
THE LIST
There’s no “set” criteria for this list. We just chose the ones we feel have a very strong interest amongst the Black Community. However, they have to be popular, mainstream products/services.
If you feel a website, product, network or publication isn’t on this list, write it in the comments below.
Here’s what we will include:
- Name of website, product, network or publication
- Their main service (via their website or wikipedia)
- The Original founder/owner
- The Current majority owner
- And if it’s currently Black Owned
Finally, there’s also no “set” order for this list. So here we go……..
1. FACEBOOK
Service: #1 Social Media Network w/ over 2 billion users
Original Founder/Owner: Mark Zuckerberg
Current Majority Owner: Mark Zuckerberg
Black-Owned: Nope
2. INSTAGRAM
Service: Photo/Video/Mobile Social Network
Original Founder/Owner: Kevin Systrom
Current Majority Owner: Facebook
Black-Owned: Nope
3. TWITTER
Service: Donald Trump’s current hideout
Original Founder/Owner: Jack Dorsey, Ev Williams, Biz Stone, Noah Glass
Current Majority Owner: Twitter team
Black-Owned: Nope (sorry #BlackTwitter)
4. APPLE
Service: iPhones, Macs, etc
Original Founder/Owner: Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, Ronald Wayne
Current Majority Owner: Apple Inc.
Black-Owned: Nope
5. APPLE MUSIC
Service: Where you get your “exclusives”
Original Founder/Owner: Apple Inc.
Current Majority Owner: Apple Inc.
Black-Owned: Nope
6. SPOTIFY
Service: Before there was Apple Music, there was (and still is) Spotify
Original Founder/Owner: Daniel Ek, Martin Lorentzon
Current Majority Owner: Same
Black-Owned: Nope
7. TIDAL
Service: The home where Kanye’s The Life of Pablo, Beyonce’s self-titled, Rihanna’s Anti & Jay-Z’s 4:44 dropped
Original Founder/Owner: Aspiro
Current Majority Owner: Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter
Black-Owned: Yes
8. ESPN
Service: The #1 sports network (as they say)
Original Founder/Owner: Bill Rasmussen
Current Majority Owner: The Walt Disney Company
Black-Owned: Nope
9. BLEACHER REPORT
Service: Latest sports news (great on social media w/ urban audiences)
Original Founder/Owner: David Finocchio, Alexander Freund, Bryan Goldberg, and Dave Nemetz
Current Majority Owner: Turner Broadcasting System (TNT)
Black-Owned: Nope
10. BET
Service: BET stands for “Black Entertainment Television”
Original Founder/Owner: Robert L. Johnson
Current Majority Owner: Viacom
Black-Owned: Nope
11. BRAVO
Service: Home of The Real Housewives of Atlanta, etc.
Original Founder/Owner: Rainbow Media
Current Majority Owner: NBC Universal
Black-Owned: Nope
12. OWN
Service: OWN stands for “Oprah Winfrey Network”
Original Founder/Owner: Harpo Productions & Discovery Communications
Current Majority Owner: Harpo Productions & Discovery Communications
Black-Owned: Kinda. Oprah owns 50%.
13. CENTRIC
Service: Where classic African-American shows live
Original Founder/Owner: BET
Current Majority Owner: Viacom
Black-Owned: Nope
14. TV ONE
Service: African-American Programming (where Unsung lives + more)
Original Founder/Owner: Cathy Hughes
Current Majority Owner: Urban One (Cathy Hughes)
Black-Owned: Yes
15. REVOLT
Service: Music videos, live performances, news and interviews
Original Founder/Owner: Sean “Diddy” Combs
Current Majority Owner: Sean “Diddy” Combs
Black-Owned: Yes
16. THE BREAKFAST CLUB (RADIO SHOW)
Service: “Good morning it’s DJ Envy, Angela Yee, and Charlamagne Tha God…”
Original Founder/Owner: iHeart Media (produced by Eddie F.)
Current Majority Owner: iHeart Media (simulcast with REVOLT)
Black-Owned: Nope
17. BLACKPEOPLEMEET.COM
Service: Online dating service targeting African-Americans
Original Founder/Owner: People Media
Current Majority Owner: IAC/InterActiveCorp
Black-Owned: Nope
18. EBONY
Service: A monthly magazine for the African-American market
Original Founder/Owner: John H. Johnson
Current Majority Owner: Clear View Group
Black-Owned: Yes
19. ESSENCE
Service: The magazine “for and about Black women.”
Original Founder/Owner: Edward Lewis, Clarence O. Smith, Cecil Hollingsworth, Jonathan Blount
Current Majority Owner: Time, Inc.
Black-Owned: Nope
20. JET
Service: The Emmett Till image that started the 1950’s Civil Rights Movement was first published here…
Original Founder/Owner: John H. Johnson
Current Majority Owner: Clear View Group
Black-Owned: Yes
21. AMAZON
Service: Who doesn’t buy from Amazon.com?
Original Founder/Owner: Jeff Bezos
Current Majority Owner: Jeff Bezos
Black-Owned: Nope
22. NETFLIX
Service: “…and chill”
Original Founder/Owner: Reed Hastings, Marc Randolph
Current Majority Owner: Institutional Investors hold shares
Black-Owned: Nope
23. HULU
Service: A Netflix for TV shows (or something like that…)
Original Founder/Owner: NBC, Fox, TBS, Disney
Current Majority Owner: Same
Black-Owned: Nope
24. THE SOURCE MAGAZINE
Service: The world’s longest running rap periodical, founded in 1988
Original Founder/Owner: David Mays
Current Majority Owner: The NorthStar Group
Black-Owned: Unclear who owns The Northstar Group
25. VIBE
Service: Features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers
Original Founder/Owner: Quincy Jones
Current Majority Owner: Eldridge Industries
Black-Owned: Nope
26. HUFF BLACK VOICES
Service: Black entertainment and politics news, money and beauty advice
Original Founder/Owner: Barry Cooper (as BlackVoices.com)
Current Majority Owner: AOL, then HuffPost, now Oath/Verizon
Black-Owned: Nope
27. THE ROOT
Service: Black news, opinions, politics and culture
Original Founder/Owner: Henry Louis Gates Jr., Donald E. Graham
Current Majority Owner: Univision Communications
Black-Owned: Nope
28. THE GRIO
Service: Providing African Americans with stories in breaking news, politics, health, business
Original Founder/Owner: David Wilson (NBC News)
Current Majority Owner: Entertainment Studios
Black-Owned: Yes
29. SHEA MOISTURE
Service: Personal care company which focuses on shampoo, conditioner and body wash
Original Founder/Owner: Nyema Tubman, Richelieu Dennis, Mary Dennis (although there’s a 1912 date)
Current Majority Owner: Same (although Bain Capital, LLC has taken a minority stake)
Black-Owned: Yes
30. BLACK ENTERPRISE
Service: The premier business, investing, and wealth-building resource for African Americans.
Original Founder/Owner: Earl Gilbert Graves, Sr.
Current Majority Owner: Earl G. Graves Publishing Company, Inc.
Black-Owned: Yes
31. BOSSIP
Service: African-American oriented gossip website
Original Founder/Owner: Jamarlin Martin
Current Majority Owner: Moguldom Media
Black-Owned: Yes
32. SOUL TRAIN AWARDS
Service: Honoring the best in Black music and entertainment
Original Founder/Owner: Soul Train
Current Majority Owner: MadVision Entertainment.
Black-Owned: Yes
33. NAACP IMAGE AWARDS
Service: Honoring outstanding people of color in film, television, music, and literature
Original Founder/Owner: NAACP
Current Majority Owner: NAACP
Black-Owned: Yes (as far as we know)
34. GENIUS
Service: Collection of song lyrics and musical knowledge, catered towards Hip-Hop
Original Founder/Owner: Mahbod Moghadam, Tom Lehman, Ilan Zechory
Current Majority Owner: Same
Black-Owned: Nope
35. GRAMMYs
Service: The music’s version of “The Oscars”
Original Founder/Owner: The Recording Academy
Current Majority Owner: The Recording Academy
Black-Owned: Nope
36. ACADEMY AWARDS
Service: Also known as The Oscars
Original Founder/Owner: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Current Majority Owner: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Black-Owned: Nope (although it does have an African-American president)
37. SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE
Service: Longest running late-night variety show on TV
Original Founder/Owner: Lorne Michaels
Current Majority Owner: Lorne Michaels/NBC
Black-Owned: Nope (although Eddie Murphy single-handedly kept it afloat in the early-80’s)
38. TEAMS ACROSS 4 MAJOR U.S. SPORTS
Sports: NBA (Basketball), MLB (Baseball), NFL (Football), NHL (Hockey)
Number of Black Majority Sports Owners: 1
Team: Charlotte Hornets, NBA (Michael Jordan)
Note: The last Black sports owners before the Hornets were from the Baseball Negro Leagues
Note 2: The Harlem Globetrotters are also not Black-Owned
39. MAJOR CURRENT MOVIE/FILM STUDIOS
Studios (Parent Company): The Walt Disney Company, Time Warner, 21st Century Fox, Comcast, Sony, Viacom
Number of Black Majority Studio Owners: 0
40. MAJOR U.S. TV NETWORKS
Major Networks: NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox, CW
Number of Black Majority Network Owners: 0
41. MAJOR MUSIC LABELS
These “Big 3 Labels” control up to 80% of the music market:
Sony BMG, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group
Number of Black Majority Major Label Owners: 0
In the end, we’ll just say this (especially to those who are associated with these brands):
It’s great that you’re giving African-Americans (and other people of color) a platform to get noticed, paid, or to use their skills. It would be even better if you either 1. owned your own platform, or 2. supported a platform that builds back wealth into your community, no matter the “haters” or “threats”, or even “lack of market user growth”.
Didn’t see a company you like on here (and who it’s owned by)? Drop a text in our comments section below.
This was a great! Some of the businesses are very obvious to not being Black Owned (ie Facebook, Instagram). Glad to see products and businesses I support on this list.
I’m a little more motivated to stay focused and continue building my business, and curious to see what other Black Owned Businesses can make the list.
This is an outstanding idea! Information is power. While it’s good that our history doesn’t begin with slavery, this is great info to help direct and support ourselves to grow, thrive and do for self. Thank you!
1. Cantu (hair products)
2. Palmers (coco butter)
BlackPeopleMeet.com is not owned by a black man? Hahaha