It all started when Aurora James made a post on her Instagram in 2020 calling major retailers to support Black businesses in a real way. This was in response to the brutal killing of George Floyd and subsequent social justice uprising leaving many corporations asking what they can do to show solidarity with the Black community.
“I am asking you to commit to buying 15% of your products from Black owned businesses,” James wrote. “So many of your businesses are built on Black spending power. So many of your stores are set up in Black communities. So many of your sponsored posts are seen on Black feeds. This is the least you can do for us. We represent 15% of the population and we need to represent 15% of your shelf space.”
Now nearly three years later, she’s getting the support she asked for.
After officially launching the Fifteen Percent Pledge nonprofit, it was recently announced that it launched its first ever Achievement Award, a $200,000 grant that will be presented to a Black business owner at the benefit gala, per a news release shared with ESSENCE.
“As a Black entrepreneur who built a successful business from the ground up, I know first-hand how life-changing it can be to receive this type of funding,” said James, Founder of the Fifteen Percent Pledge and Creative Director of Brother Vellies. “Equitable access to capital is the most crucial lever to closing the racial wealth gap, and at the Pledge, we’re working to build a network of partners to help address this issue at scale.”
Prospective applicants can learn more at https://15percentpledge.org/award.
Companies including that have aligned with the pledge include Ulta, Sephora, Rent the Runway, Medmen, Yelp, Vogue Magazine, Macy’s Inc., Bloomingdales, Blue Mercury, InStyle U.S., Indigo (CA), West Elm, Crate & Barrel, CB2, Madewell, Gap Inc., Old Navy, Athleta, Banana Republic, KITH, Moda Operandi, Next Model Management, Hudson’s Bay, Sephora Canada, JCrew, MATCHESFASHION (UK), Nordstrom and Victoria’s Secret.
