Buying Black as a Cure for Black Unemployment

Laura S. Washington, the Chicago Sun-Times columnist, writes that African Americans should start buying black in Chicago as a way to combat black unemployment numbers. Historically, black companies in the city have hired African-American workers. Suggested Reading New AI TikTok Trend Has Gorillas Posing as Black Women, and Folks are Pissed Steve Harvey’s Gorgeous $15…

Laura S. Washington, the Chicago Sun-Times columnist, writes that African Americans should start buying black in Chicago as a way to combat black unemployment numbers. Historically, black companies in the city have hired African-American workers.

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Trump’s Tariffs Might Stick Around. What Should We Buy Now?
Trump’s Tariffs Might Stick Around. What Should We Buy Now?

Black folks are being hit harder than anyone in this monster recession. Nationally, the jobless rate among African Americans stands at 16.7 percent. However, there's a silver lining in Chicagoโ€™s persistent segregation โ€” black-owned firms tend to hire black employees. That's a winning argument for legacy black companies like Parker House Sausage, a Chicago food company in business for 90 years. Buying its products creates and sustains jobs. (Just take those pork patties hot links in moderation, the Fat Nag reminds.)

Channel 7 also notes Luster Products, another legacy firm that manufactures hair care supplies. That should be a no-brainer for black women, who spend millions annually tending to their bobs, weaves and locks.

Now's the time to pick up a subscription to the Chicago Defender. The weekly version of the 106-year-old newspaper is a shadow of its former historic self, but its parent company employs workers in Chicago, Detroit, Pittsburgh and Memphis.

Read Laura S. Washington's entire column at the Chicago Sun-Times.

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