December 10, 2020
Holiday shopping suggestion lists were largely collated by Dr. Rowan Martindale (DGS) and the post's text benefited from her review and input. We are also grateful to the many diverse people who compiled any original resources we scoured for this article, which are cited at the end of each list.
For this year’s (very unusual) Holiday Season we’ve collated a list of Black-, Latinx-, and Indigenous-owned businesses in Austin, Texas, and US-wide online. Please use and share this early holiday gift from Science, Y’all! We recommend you check these out soon to ensure your gift(s) arrive with plenty of time!
2020 has been a crazy year! For a lot of people this year has reinforced, or worsened, disparities between minority-identifying communities and the rest of the populous, reigniting conversations and importantly, action, around the Black Lives Matter movement (among others) globally. Many of us have taken extra efforts this summer and fall semester to commit time and resources to improve Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) here at the Jackson School. But it doesn’t stop there…. One of the biggest ways to make an impact is by using your own wealth (as much or as little as that may be) to support these communities; this Science, Y’all! post highlights ways that you can continue to support DEI in your holiday shopping.
The historical underrepresentation and undervaluing of Black people in the US was discussed in UT’s Division for Diversity & Community Engagement ‘History of the Black experience’ lecture series (which is still available on YouTube Without grouping the experiences of all minority-identifying communities under one umbrella, it’s important to note that Latinx and Indigenous American peoples also experience some of the same monumental challenges to education and wealth accumulation as the Black community, as well as many other unique challenges (see this article from NPR on how the 2020 COVID pandemic is worsening the racial wealth gap).
One way to help alleviate the wealth-disparity experienced by these groups is to make the effort to buy from Black-, Latinx-, and Indigenous-owned businesses. Supporting these businesses can help increase the generational wealth for communities that have long been excluded from house ownership, investment opportunities, and career progression [see this Center for American Progress article]. Buying from and supporting minority-owned businesses is not only an investment in the people and the business, leading to generational wealth accumulation over time, but may support job and opportunity creation within the community (e.g., for every $100 spent at a local business, $68 of it stays in the local community). Your financial support in the form of buying is also an act of investment in the community the business is part of and/or serves by increasing the wealth recycled, pride, and successful role models within that particular minority community.
As the Winter Holiday season is upon us, we collated a list of Black-, Latinx-, and Indigenous- owned businesses in Austin, Texas, and across the US that you might consider for your holiday shopping (both in person and online).
These lists are not exhaustive, so if you don’t find anything listed here, a quick internet search will likely reveal other businesses for that specific gift you’ve been envisioning. Do you want to gift a delicious Whiskey that will please the most discerning palette? Uncle Nearest has it all; their elixir is blended by the amazing Victoria Butler, the first (known) Black woman Master Blender in the US spirits industry! How about sharing the joy of unique, colorful jewelry with a loved one? Shop the beautiful pieces from numerous artists at Cherokee Woman. Want to find a candle for your Silent Night AND support a local artist? Timber and Silk offers so many options!
If you would like to add a Black, Latinx- or Indigenous- owned business to this list, please get in touch with the authors (email: Emily Bamber, Dr. Rowan Martindale, Megan Flansburg, Kiara Gomez)
