It’s not enough to simply buy Black, but it helps. Start with Tacoma Urban League

In the wake of the deaths of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Manuel Ellis in Tacoma and the ongoing protests against institutionalized racism, readers of The News Tribune and Americans across the country have sought avenues to directly support the Black community.

The Tacoma Urban League manages a directory of Black-owned businesses, with more than 60 current members in industries including law, finance, marketing and real estate, sports coaching and event planning.

TUL created the online database last year, though it’s not the first iteration. Throughout the organization’s 52-year history, a directory has existed on and off in some form, said president and CEO T’wina Nobles.

Nobles spearheaded the project, starting with her own enterprise supporting women and girls (the work continues with TUL), by calling friends and business owners. They pay $100 to be listed, though Nobles said TUL waives the fee for any business that wants to create a profile but might not be able to afford the initial cost, and TUL provides marketing and access to their development programs.

“If you’re running a small business, it takes time,” said Nobles, who is also running for the state senate seat in the 28th district representing southwestern Pierce County. “The goal is to provide a space where the community can buy Black.”

The directory is unique in that it features dozens of professional service businesses, many of which might lack the visible storefronts that, say, restaurants have.

“You want a Black therapist, a Black home restoration — to me, it’s a beautiful thing,” Nobles told The News Tribune in a phone call.

Only a few food businesses have joined, but that’s not for lack of effort. She and her team have connected with them in more ways than one — “called, snail-mailed, emailed” — and will continue to connect with both businesses that are pillars of their neighborhood, such as Southern Kitchen on Sixth Avenue and Bob’s Bar-B-Q in Hilltop, and entrepreneurs in any industry just getting off the ground.

Less than 10 percent of all U.S. businesses identify as Black-owned. Of an estimated 2.6 million businesses, based on the last survey of owners in 2015, nearly all are non-employer firms, meaning they don’t have paid employees.

TUL’s leaders have leveraged their personal and professional relationships to build the foundation of the directory, connecting not just the public to these businesses but also schools and local governments looking to contract with more services run by women and people of color, said Nobles.

It’s also about truly investing in the Black community beyond this moment in time.

“We care about all of these people. We care about their business, and we don’t just care about, ‘We did something.’ There was a need for those of us who want to continue to buy Black, a place to stay in contact with them. It’s about the longevity, the support of these businesses, making sure that they know we’re rallying around them,” she said, adding that TUL itself is a small, Black-owned nonprofit.

It’s not about moving these resources elsewhere.

“I want us to support what exists,” she said. “Let’s work to improve it.”

Asked if she believed this current wave of local interest in Black business would continue or be another engagement blip, Nobles admitted that both are likely to hold true.

“Some folks are newly committed to this work and will do this for the rest of their lives,” she said. “Some folks have time off work and have time to pay attention. When life resumes, it will kind of fall off. That’s not a criticism; it’s just a fact. Some folks will stick around.”

TUL, despite different leaders and the same types of challenges over a half-century, will continue to pursue the movement and will welcome anyone who wants to join.

“We embrace anyone who wants to be a part of it,” said Nobles. “We are here because we are committed. It won’t change our work, but if we get more members, more soldiers, more activists to join our mission here and across the nation, that’s a beautiful thing. We are going to be consistent.”

Tacoma Urban League

▪ 2550 S. Yakima Ave., Ste A, Tacoma, 253-383-2007, thetacomaurbanleague.org

▪ TUL Membership: starts at $50/year for an individual, $100 for a business, and $1,200 for corporate sponsors

▪ Search the business directory at tulmembers.com.

This story was originally published June 13, 2020 at 8:00 AM.