As the rollback and termination of diversity and inclusion initiatives continue, the fourth annual Fifteen Percent Pledge Gala successfully raised $3 million on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025, to support black-owned businesses.

According to Women’s Wear Daily, the event at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles, CA, attracted many notable figures from culture and business, including Keke Palmer, Ciara, Kelly Rowland, Teyana Taylor, and Jesse Williams.

Prominent artists such as Amy Sherald and Mickalene Thomas were also in attendance, along with CFDA Womenswear Designer of the Year Rachel Scott from Diotima; Tatcha founder Vicky Tsai; model Amber Valletta; and celebrity stylists Law Roach, Wayman Bannerman, and Micah McDonald.

“This is exactly the time we need to show up and continue to speak out,” Fifteen Percent Pledge Founder Aurora James said at the gala, per WWD. “Each and every one of us, our stories, our pasts, our cultures and identities, are part of the fabric that makes America great. Dare I say more than great, we make it f–king spectacular.”

James founded the nonprofit advocacy organization focused on racial equity and economic justice in 2020 to encourage major retailers and corporations to allocate 15% of their purchasing power to historically underfunded and underrepresented Black-owned businesses.

Since then, the Pledge has partnered with 29 retailers to stock their shelves with Black-owned brands, creating opportunities for over 800 brands, per WWD.

“We are nobody’s DEI hire,” James said. “This country in its best form is a product of each of our beautiful and individual contributions. Never, ever, ever let another person tell you otherwise. We belong, you belong, all of our children belong here.”

The Pledge awarded $200,000 in grants to fine jeweler Bernard James, specialty tea company Brooklyn Tea, and period products brand RedDrop. Barbara Shay, owner of the family-run Little Red Hen coffee shop, which her mother opened in the 1970s, also received $50,000.

Little Red Hen is located in the historically Black community of Altadena, Los Angeles County, an unincorporated area devastated by the Eaton Fire. The wildfire, one of two that ravaged the region for over three weeks, has since been 100% contained, according to a Jan. 31 report by Reuters.

Artemis Patrick, president and CEO of Sephora, shared at the event that the retailer has graduated over 33 brands from its incubator program — a move that has significantly increased the number of Black-owned beauty brands available in stores and online. She presented the 2025 Sephora Beauty Grant of $100,000 to Sienna Naturals co-founders Hannah Diop and Issa Rae, who focus on haircare products.

Chairwoman Emma Grede said the Pledge, which has created the “potential to shift $17 million in revenue to Black-owned businesses,” continues to grow despite attacks on DEI and is expanding partnerships with digital retailers, helping founders access the benefits of artificial intelligence, per WWD.

“This organization is so consequential especially now when everything’s in question and it shouldn’t be,” noted creative director June Ambrose, according to WWD. “At the end of the day, these are entrepreneurs who just want their fair share of the real estate. And color, the fact we have to talk about it, means there is something wrong.”