I must admit, TikTok can be filled with a lot of foolishness but every now and then you come across a video that makes you feel the need to do a deeper dive into the information being given. Recently I saw a video of a young woman talking about all of the black business entrepreneurs who ended up selling their products to white companies. That led me to do further research and I was shocked to discover she was absolutely on point.
According to an article in Newsweek, more than 30 products, which were black-owned at one point, are now controlled by white companies. The one that sticks out the most for me is Carol's Daughter. I remember seeing an interview with the woman behind the black hair care products (Lisa Price) who was so excited to see her brand being picked up by Target for the first time. In 2014, however, she reportedly sold her business to L'Oreal for $27 million dollars. One might argue that's probably more money than she could ever make on her own as a black entrepreneur but Carol's Daughter fits into a pattern of how black entrepreneurs become sell-outs to the white corporate structure.
Then there's Softsheen, which was founded by a Black couple in 1964, but sold to L'Oreal in 1998 and Shea Moisture, which was founded by a woman in West Africa in the early 1900's, but is now owned by Unilever.
It is hard to comprehend why someone would work so hard to create and market their product and then turn around and sell it to a white corporation. It's also hard to comprehend how deeply rooted racism has been in every aspect of our lives and kept all things from being equal.
If all things were equal, these transactions would never be necessary.
On the other hand, if someone wants to pick up my Vocabulary Bingo game, I, too, would become a sell-out!
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