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Target is putting its money where its mouth is. In 2021, the retail giant announced a commitment to advance racial equity, including increased investments with Black-owned businesses by more than 50 percent. In addition to this commitment, the popular Minnesota-based retailer is enhancing its Target Scholars Program with updated extensions and additional resources.
As long as the culture is at the forefront, there’s no way you can lose! In fact, one company that continues its winning season is Be Rooted — the stationery and gifting brand launched by Jasmin Foster after the realization that we were missing from the industry. “I launched Be Rooted in 2020 because I wanted to change the face of the stationery and gifting industry. For far too long and in too many spaces, Black and Brown women have been left unseen and unspoken to. Be Rooted was created to flip that narrative and center Black and Brown women by making them feel loved, celebrated, and uplifted,” said Foster, the Founder and CEO of Be Rooted. Now, the brand has been named as one of TIME Magazine’s 100 most influential brands of the year!
Black-owned businesses are out here thriving, and we love to see it. As previously reported by AfroTech, Young King Hair Care launched in more than 1,200 Target and Walmart retailers just shy of two years of becoming the destination for haircare tailored specifically for young men. Now, they are headed for the famous NBC’s “Shark Tank” and founders Cora and Stefan Miller hope that this continues the company’s growth. “Prior to filming our segment, our business was experiencing exponential growth since our launch in December 2019,” said Cora in an exclusive email interview with AfroTech. “The Sharks were very complimentary regarding the business we built. They actually even called my husband a ‘brilliant marketer,’ which as our CMO, whose professional background is all-around marketing, made him feel so proud.”
Being a risk-taker paid off for entrepreneur Shontay Lundy, the founder of Black Girl Sunscreen. The New York native began cultivating the brand after nudges from friends suggesting Lundy should consider wearing sunscreen, as she became an avid hiker after moving to Los Angeles. While diving into research for products catering to Black skin, Lundy was not convinced by her findings. To her disappointment, the sunscreen sector underserved Black people and she recalled zero options that resonated with her. Recognizing an issue, Lundy decided to be the change and disrupt the $8.5 billion sunscreen industry. Although Lundy never manifested she would become the head of a million-dollar sunscreen brand, she was determined to follow what made her happy.
This Florida A&M University student bet on herself and landed in national stores. Kah’Milah Ledgester submitted her designs for Target’s 2021 HBCU design contest and JCPenney’s Young, Gifted and Black design challenge. And, putting her hands in various baskets paid off. Ledgester was informed she won both competitions during the spring of 2021 and to expect them displayed on a national scale for Black History Month of 2022. FAMU senior graphic design student Kah'Milah Ledgester recently appeared in a @Target commercial showcasing her work for their 2022 Black History Collection! Way to strike from the top, Kah'Milah! Check out the commercial below! #famu #rattlers #blackbeyondmeasure pic.twitter.com/q2k7HukC3F — FAMU School of Journalism & Graphic Communication (@FAMUSJGC82) November 26, 2021 “I always get a little excited because of the fact that I did the Target challenge, and I also did JCPenney and won both of them. It made me feel very good because I took a chance,” said...
Black households contributed $835 billion in consumer expenditures in 2019 alone and the combined spending of these households has increased by five percent annually over the last twenty years, according to reports. With the holiday season at our front door, the Black purchasing power is predicted to be at an all-time high. Although many companies will reap the benefits of the Black dollar, few are embracing representation in their products. Black Paper Party is on a mission to create more inclusive items for Black families to shop for this year. Founded in September 2020 by Madia Willis (chief executive officer), J’Aaron “Jae” Merchant (chief product designer) and Jasmine Hudson (chief merchandising officer), the trio reckoned Black families were underrepresented each holiday. Combining their love for the culture with 25 years of experience in retail, product development, and creative design, they knew it was time to create products that were reflective of the Diaspora. “ Having...
As Black girls, the color of our skin and hair is where we learn to find our liberation in a world that has attempted to ostracize its beauty. This harsh reality was true for baby boss, Esi Orijin. As AfroTech previously reported, during her time at private school she felt like a needle in a haystack as the only Black girl in her class. The lack of representation led her to fall into a season where she lacked confidence — subsequently leading her to dislike her features such as her skin tone and hair texture. Her mother, Melissa Orijin — aiming to combat self-confidence issues Black women encounter — launched Orijin Bees (“Our Representation Is Just Inclusion Normalized Beautifully Empowering Every Soul”) alongside her daughter. The doll line aims to validate the beauty of Black girls’ culture and identity while celebrating the variations in skin tones, hair textures and sizes. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Orijin Bees ™️ – Black Dolls (@orijinbees) “A]s a purpose...
One thing about Target, they’re going to pay it forward. As AfroTech previously reported, the retail giant announced this past April, that it will provide $2 billion in support toward products from over 500 Black-owned businesses. Now, they’ve announced in a blog post that they will be allocating $100 million in funding to Black communities through 2025. With this new commitment, they aim to fuel economic prosperity to Black-led organizations as a part of their Target Forward Strategy designed to ensure the company equitably represents the communities they serve. “As one of the largest retailers in the U.S., we know we have the responsibility and opportunity to use our resources to help end systemic racism and accelerate economic prosperity for Black communities,” said A manda Nusz , President and Corporate Responsibility senior of the Target Foundation, in a blog post. “With this commitment, we aim to support the next generation of Black talent, expand the impact of Black-led...
Target is the latest major retail corporation to extend an olive branch for free education to its employees. As previously reported by AfroTech, last month Walmart announced an education initiative in which the retailer would cover full tuition and book fees for their workers to go to college. Now, big-box retailer Target is joining in with its own debt-free education program that’s pledging roughly $200 million to fund the educational pursuits of its employees for the next four years. According to an announcement from the corporation, all Target workers will be eligible for its free education program that will cover fees for select undergraduate programs, certificates, certifications, free textbooks and more with zero out-of-pocket costs starting on their first day of work. The ambitious initiative is said to apply to all 340,000 plus Target employees for what the retailer describes as “the most comprehensive debt-free education assistance program available in the retail industry.”...
This little lady is the youngest in charge! According to PRNewswire, Lily Adeleye is officially the youngest founder amongst Walmart’s Black-owned business initiative through her children’s accessory line — Lily Frilly. Lily is taking after her mogul mother, Courtney Adeleye — Founder and CEO of The Mane Choice — as she’s experiencing her brand’s second retailer launch success since hitting Target shelves last year. “Lily Frilly started out as a brand my daughter Lily and myself created, as I have always believed it’s important to let your children follow their passions, whether that be art, sports, or in this case, growing a business,” shared Courtney in an official press release. “Now, Lily Frilly has become so much more than just that – it’s become a brand children love, as well as a symbol of inspiration and confidence for young girls as well as for the black community. It’s amazing to see what kids can do, and we’re so glad Walmart is providing this platform to give Lily Frilly...