The term “buying black” has become a nationwide trending topic and movement in the last few weeks. Many Americans of all races and creeds have jumped on the bandwagon of investing in the Black culture for years without any of these profits being put back into the Black economy. Schools, neighborhoods, hospitals, and even small business owners struggle to thrive in black communities and get their start as an entrepreneur.

Well maybe the time is now. Since the recent protests for the “Black Lives Matter” movement, many of our big-name brand companies have jumped on board toting “BLM” hashtags and proclaiming their undying support for the Black Lives Matter movement and Black community. Nike, Disney, Ben & Jerry’s, even the NFL have spoke out against systemic racism and put their money where their mouth is by contributing huge donations to the Black Lives Matter organization.

But all these companies are owned by a majority of white business men in white corporate America board rooms. How can these white men fully represent and understand what it means to support the Black community? There is an obvious lack of diversity and inclusion in many of these conglomerate companies that many of of us grew up being taught to idolize. This is where “buying black” comes into play. Not only do Black owned businesses have a better understanding of the needs of the Black community, but they are trillion-dollar industry that has the means to rebuild the Black economy on a community level.

So how does the Black community get there? One idea has been apps that help consumers (of all races) find black owned businesses in their area. “Blocal” is a popular one that even offers consulting tactics on customer service etiquette to help Black business owners expand their brand to a broader audience. As the world churns in this new “WOKE” status that does not seem to be dying down anytime soon, buying black may be the new normal. It might just well be the dawning of a new economic era as we know it. We can only hope that the rebuilding of the beloved Black Wall Street is not far behind.