Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement and started by musician and member of the So Solid Crew, Swiss, Black Pound Day was launched on 27 June 2020 to celebrate the black community on an emotional and financial level, not just one day per year but on a monthly basis to encourage consumers to direct their shopping habits towards local and online black-owned businesses. Black Pound Dat is celebrated on every first Saturday of each month.

The campaign’s Instagram account states that “Black Pound Day is a real solution-based, community-empowering campaign and motivating endeavour that will leave a better infrastructure for the next generation to walk into.” Swiss aims for a solution-based community and said it would “gain greater knowledge to be able to access and invest in black business. The vision of Black Pound Day is to empower the community to create a new economy which will, in turn, underpin our long-term financial growth and infrastructure.”

Simply support black-owned businesses. This is not a moment, this is a movement. A movement that is staying put. Black Pound Day seeks to shine a light on the brilliant stuff that the black community is and always has been doing, and we’re here for it. The larger goal is to not simply buy or talk about these vendors once a month, but for them to become businesses that we incorporate within our daily lives and that we frequently tell others about.

Check out the it’s Black-owned directory, it lists hundreds of businesses to support, that’s a good place to start. But this is just a few of an ever-growing list of businesses that we love too. If you’re in need of a reusable mask, check IGBONY. Soothe the summer sunburn with Liha’s beautiful lotions and potions, or surround yourself with intricately woven baskets from LA Basketry. If you’re feeling extra creative they supply kits and teach you to make your own! Another thing you can do is to follow social media accounts that will keep you up to date with product launches or events, one of them being Jamii, which is a marketplace and discount card for black British brands.

There’s also a Black Women’s directory launching soon, which will soon be providing easy access to black women-owned businesses and services. If you’re reading a little more these days, New Beacon Books was founded in 1966 by the late John La Rose, as the first black publisher and international book distributor in the UK focusing on selling works written by black British authors, or from African, Asian and Caribbean descent. The physical shop is still closed due to COVID-19 but be sure to check out their online shop.