Black Business Owners Are Being Overlooked By “Best Of” Lists And They’re Frustrated | Essence

“Best of” lists are a great way for businesses to raise awareness and draw in more customers, but Black founders aren’t reaping the benefits of such acknowledgements.

Per a recent report from New Hampshire Public Radio, Connecticut-based Black-owned businesses expressed their bewilderment and frustration over constant disregard from publications’ ranked lists.

The outlet spoke to DeAndrea Abrahams, a West Hartford salon owner who’s business is booming, but she has yet to be featured in any local magazines.

“I’ve been in business for eight years,” Abrahams said. “COVID happened, and a lot of other businesses closed … [but] that didn’t happen for me. I grew actually even more during that time frame.” She adds: “It definitely crosses my mind, it is a bit bothersome,” she said.

The outlet points out that the lists are usually created lists through surveyed opinions from readers, their editorial teams’ knowledge or third-party sources.

This isn’t reliable enough according to Yvette Young, an initiative lead for ShopBlackCT.com, an online directory for Black-owned businesses in Connecticut.

“It would be good for these other larger publications to start embracing the richness of the culture that exists in Connecticut,” Young said. “Are [publications] willing to say, ‘Let’s make sure we put in a more diverse group of businesses so that the output will be more representative of the communities that we serve?’”

This lack of Black business recognition was called out last year when the New York Times chose to not include any Black-owned restaurants in a report highlighting Detroit local businesses’ economic impact of the Lions playoff run leading to the NFL Super Bowl. The problem is, this omission was particularly egregious since the city is majority Black.

Ken Coleman, a senior reporter at Detroit non-profit news outlet Michigan Advance wrote in an X post, “Detroit is 77% Black. 57% of the NFL is Black. Not one African-American-owned business mentioned in this New York Times piece.”

This is especially disappointing since it has been noted that these sort of recognitions can significantly lead to more patronage for Black businesses. For instance, a 2023 study suggests that Black founders can solicit more support in parts of the country when they make their presence more known using platforms like Yelp to boost awareness.

“Collectively, our findings suggest that digital platforms can effectively boost the performance of minority firms, particularly during a time of increased national awareness of the challenges that Black business owners face,” the authors shared in their study. “These effects depend on the specific area and population that is targeted.”