February is Black History Month, a time meant for celebrating Black people of the past, present, and future. As a Black woman, I think that uplifting Black woman-owned brands is a really impactful way to combat historical racism and sexism. Educating yourself and others on topics related to gender, race, and intersectionality is the perfect jumping-off point, but it can be understandably difficult to know how to uplift marginalized communities further. In today’s society, spending power is like a vote telling the market what you want to see more of. Â
Black women face unique challenges in entrepreneurship due to the intersection of their racial and gender identities, whether it’s a lack of role models and institutional connections, less access to capital, or just plain discouragement. Even recently, some companies have rolled back diversity programs, taking away even more support from minorities and women. Your spending power is all the more important because of such opportunity losses. Â
As marginalized people themselves, Black women business owners see and hear your girl problems, especially when it comes to women’s health. These products come to you from beautiful, hardworking, and educated women, including health advocates, PCOS and breast cancer survivors, and medical professionals who saw a gap in the market that needed to be filled. Support these Black woman-owned health brands this Black History Month, because your spending power is a statement. Â
The founder of Mela Vitamins, Ashley Harmon, was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) in college, spurring her to learn about women’s health. However, countless specialists and supplements left her with a mile-high bill, just from trying to prioritize her well-being. She couldn’t manage these high costs as a college student, so she learned to develop her own feminine healthcare products. Harmon never planned on starting a business, but when she realized how disproportionately health issues were affecting marginalized communities such as her own, she knew her calling. Â
Mela Vitamins creates daily vitamins for women, specifically including Vitamin D, which is a common deficiency among Black people due to their melanated skin. Mela Vitamins has products to help women glow from the inside out, such as the “Daily Essentials for Women” ($40) capsules packed with Vitamins A, C, D3, B12, and many more. Â
While on a girls’ trip, Dr. Barbara McLaren and Kimba Williams discovered their mutual passion for uplifting women through helping their health. McLaren is a board-certified OB/GYN and breast cancer survivor, while “Naturalista” Williams is a former pharmaceutical expert who saw her patients’ struggles with medicine reliance. Both of these women saw the lack of women’s health support in the market, and in 2017, they founded Kushae, a brand dedicated to chemical-free feminine care and women’s health advocacy. Â
Their focuses span from irritation, pregnancy and postpartum care, odor resistance, and even products to care for yeast infections. These Black women want to help you with everything from body balms to prebiotic vitamins. One of Kushae’s stand-out products is the “Gentle 2-N-1 Foaming Feminine Wash” ($22), a 5-star product featured in Cosmopolitan. It’s formulated to gently cleanse the vulva, and it doubles as a shaving soap!Â
The fast-paced city life of her hometown, New York City, shaped Tonya Lewis Lee into the hardworking and efficient business owner she is today. She is not only the founder and owner of Movita Organics, an organic women’s wellness brand, but also a health advocate, attorney, writer, and film director. As a film major, I was especially impressed by Aftershock, a film she directed about the maternal mortality crisis. Â
Due to her passion for health advocacy, Lewis Lee created the health information website HealthyYouNow.com, but her ambition led her to create Movita Organics in 2015. Outlining the goal of her business, Lewis Lee said to Luxurious Wellniss, “Movita is to me More Vitality.” These products are USDA Organic certified, verified non-GMO, and gluten-free certified by UFCF, as well as free of allergens such as nuts, and shellfish. Â
Movita has products for beauty, specific vitamin deficiencies, prenatal care, and all-purpose daily multivitamins. It even has a health and wellness blog and features “refill packages” for several items so that customers can reuse their glass product bottles to reduce waste. If you’re looking for a well-rounded vitamin to help you start the morning off right, the “Women’s Multivitamin Bottle” ($40) boasts 19 key vitamins and minerals that support energy, heart health, and immune functions, and it can be taken on an empty stomach due to Movita’s unique fermentation process in their products. Â
This Black History Month, show your support by supporting these three brands, or any Black-owned brands that may pique your interest. To these entrepreneurs, your support means everything and helps keep their business running. As more Black women are able to create and continue their businesses in the present, they make the entrepreneurs of the past proud and give the Black girls of the future someone to look up to. Remember: your spending is power.