CLEVELAND — Beyoncé Knowles-Carter is woman of few words, but when she speaks, know that is has purpose.
"Being Black is your activism. Black excellence is a form of protest. Black joy is your right," the Queen Bey posted to her website Friday, June 19 in celebration of Juneteenth. The holiday marks the official end of slavery in her home state of Texas in 1865.
To highlight Black excellence, Beyoncé released a song title "Black Parade," announcing that all proceeds from the song would be donated to "BeyGOOD's Black Business Impact Fund, administered by the National Urban League, to support Black-owned small businesses in need," according to her website.
In the song, Beyoncé celebrates the strength, heritage,and resilience of Black people, while simultaneously showing love for her roots, the south. As the song closes, Beyoncé encourages the Bey hive to " follow my parade, oh, black parade."
To further support black businesses, in conjunction with her single release, Beyoncé released a curated list of black businesses from several industries for her fans to support--The Black Parade Route. The list, created and curated by @ZerinaAkers with @black.owned.everything, features black owned businesses across the country including three Northeast Ohio based businesses.
Wellness & Health:
Herbal Ciddy was founded by Cindey Moorer. The line is a high quality skincare line promoting holistic health and healing.For more information on Herbal Ciddy, click here.
Services:
Collective Castings was founded by CEO Ariona Beninato in 2017 to help represent models, talent and artists of color. Since its founding, the casting company has booked talent for several brands in entertainment, film, fashion commercial and runway modeling. They've worked with the likes of Balmain, Essence, and Showtime just to name a few.
For more information on Collective Casting, click here.
Beauty:
Promise to Care is a aromatherapy and herbal skin care brand founded by Alicia Cleveland. The brand provides organic botanical blends curated to help heal and nourish all skin types.
"We want to provide holistic, natural ingredients that work for all women and men of all ages, and to provide organic products at a reasonable cost," her website reads.
For more information on Promise to Care, click here.
