In America, the words Black and Business are becoming more synonymous with building black wealth outside of the housing market.  Black Americans are heading to platforms, like the Chinese owned Tik Tok, to develop, promote, and sustain their online business ventures.  We found that business discovery is easier on social media where smaller brands struggle to financially compete commercially.  With Facebook and Instagram ads creating accessibility and affordability, the landscape of ownership for Black professionals and Black investors is uncapped.  Tik Tok specifically, rolled out an in-app campaign using the hashtag #BLACKBUSINESSMONTH to highlight and encourage content creators to use the platform in August.  The history of Black owned businesses in reality is a sad tale and reflects much of the history that was left out of our education during the post-Civil War era, also known as the Reconstruction Era.  I did research and used Tik Tok to highlight white men and women who worked to keep the progression of free Blacks stagnant after emancipation.  Watch some of them here:

Black spending versus Black ownership is where the true devil lies in the details as it relates to wealth.  Nonetheless, more and more Black entrepreneurs are surfacing, in every aspect of business.  Here are the top trending Black Brands we found in August 2021 for National Black Business Month.

You find can learn more about Tik Tok for Business here: https://getstarted.tiktok.com/supportblackbusinesses

Business that this platform has helped:

Bohten Eyeglasses – @

https://instagram.com/bohten?utm_medium=copy_link

https://instagram.com/bohten?utm_medium=copy_link

https://instagram.com/cocoandbreezyeyewear?utm_medium=copy_link

https://instagram.com/iiirdeyeview?utm_medium=copy_link

Tahyira spoke to Ashley from the Black Podcasting Awards last week, read their interview below:

Tahyira Savanna: What made you create the awards show? Was it difficult launching during the pandemic?

Ashley: February 2020 someone posted “why dont we have a black podcasting awards?” Which went viral. Our board member Georgie-Ann happened to see it and tasked herself with rallying a group together, and securing the domains and social media handles to make it happen. Sadly the pandemic hit the whole world soon after and we lost basically 64 or so volunteers due to everything happening in the world. So in 2021, seven of us organized the first annual Black Podcasting Awards that was held virtually Sept 27, 2020.

TS: How are the judges able to decide with so many Black creators podcasting? Is it based on a specific criteria?

Ashley: Yes, our Nominations Director with the help of the organizing team, created a voting criteria for the judges to go off of. But also, one of the most important aspect of the application process is the audio reel. Last year it was 10min, which we found was too long so this year we reduced it to 5min. This is a very important deciding factor because we receive a lot of applicants and do not have the capacity to search for each, listen to their podcast, and view their website.

TS: How does a Black podcast submit to be considered? Which categories are the most popular this year?

Ashley: Visit our website BlackPodAwards.Com for more information about us as well as for a link to apply. This years applications closed Aug 31st at 11:59. But if you missed them we could still use volunteers, judges, and of course sponsors and donations. Our most popular categories are Black Podcast of the Year, Best New Podcast, and Best Black Culture Podcast.

TS: What’s your “why” – why do you do what you do? 

Ashley: We do this for our people because we believe in recognizing and awarding our people. But mainly we want for us to smell the roses while we are still here to smell it. But especially our Black People who sometimes aren’t given space to be recognized. We are all volunteers so we definitely can use more support and help.

TS: Black award shows matter.  What other ways is your brand a game changer in the podcast industry? 

Ashley: Our brand will be putting through the necessary paperwork to be a nonprofit soon because not only do we wish to recognize Black Voices, but we also want to provide resources, education, and a bigger network for our Black Voices to be heard. Representation matters.

Ashley Perkins| Nominations Director

Ashley Perkins is a content creator and host of Perky Perspectives, a podcast that broadcasts the unique perspective of people of color who go against the grain to create their own paths. She also brings her talent of working with diverse communities to the table as the Nominations Director for the Black Podcasting Awards team. Email: perkyperspectivespod@gmail.com

About Tahyira Savanna: 

Tahyira is a lifestyle journalist and writer. Her interest includes human stories and introspection. She interviews everyday people doing their part to make our world a happier place. Follow her on Twitter @TAsterisk and Instagram @iletthegoodtimesroll.