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BUSINESS & ECONOMIC JUSTICE PASSION PLATFORM

NOTE: Page Under Construction. Please scroll down to watch video related to the Platform. Welcome to the Business & Economic Justice Passion Platform.

Business & Economic Justice Causes
  • Entrepreneurship/Social Entrepreneurship

  • Tourism & Economic Development

  • Fair Trade

  • Microfinance (i.e. microlending)

  • Career Training & Development

  • Pan-African/International Trade

  • Food & Consumer Goods Cooperatives

  • Investment Clubs/Tontines/Susus

  • Pay Equity

  • Black-owned banking
Click Title to Download Business & Economic Justice Factsheet
File Size/Type: 200 KB (PDF)
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Business & Economic Justice Short Video
Approximate Length: 7 minutes
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Business & Economic Justice Web Resources
  • Grameen Bank: Nobel Prize winner Dr. Yanus founded Grameen Bank which developed innovative ways to fight poverty at its roots via village-centered microlending systems. He is a world-renowned pioneer of the microfinance movement which in recent years has soared to new heights. http://www.grameenfoundation.org/


  • Kiva: The world’s first microlending platform enabling ordinary people to make small loans to the working poor around the world. Imagine, helping a woman in Cameroon or Burkina Faso start a business with just $25. Kiva makes this all possible. In just a few short years they have developed a transparent lending platform built on strong systems and practices that have resulted in a 99.8% repayment rate. That means, almost every single loan is paid back and in most cases is free to recircluate throughout their proprietary system. In the end, families are able to lift themselves out of poverty through small direct investment rather than the “charity” model that typically perpetuates dependency on foreign aid and thus the vicious cycle of poverty. Make a small loan to someone in Africa or a Black community elsewhere today! http://www.kiva.org/


  • OneUnited Bank: Started by Kevin Cohee, OneUnited Bank is the first Black internet bank and the largest Black owned bank in the country, with offices in Los Angeles, Boston and Miami. OneUnited Bank is fulfilling the hundred year old civil rights dream by garnering the savings power of our communities and channeling it back into urban communities for economic development. In 2007, 2006, 2005, and 2004, they were awarded the highest Bank Enterprise Award by the U.S. Department of Treasury for their community development lending. They are a designated Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI). In the past four years, they have financed over $600 million in loans, including churches, affordable housing, office buildings and retail stores - most in low to moderate income communities such as South Central, Compton, Liberty City and Roxbury. However, they never participated in subprime lending. They have always maintained strong credit criteria. http://www.oneunitedbank.org/

Business & Economic Justice Suggested Reading
  • Blueprint to Black Power: A Moral, Political, and Economic Imperative for the Twenty-First Century by Dr. Amos Wilson

  • Powernomics: The National Plan to Empower Black America by Dr. Claud Anderson

  • How Capitalism Underdeveloped Black America by Manning Marable

Click Title to Download Featured Solutionary
This is where BlackstarVillage will feature solutionaries or people making a difference in the lives of Black people and/or communities anywhere in the world. If you would like to nominate someone who deserves to be featured, we would love to hear from you.


Action Alerts
  • Locate and open an account with a Black-owned and operated bank. After all, they are FDIC insured too! Additionally, your money will enable them to make loans to deserving, small business owners that are members of the Black community.


  • Start an investment club, susu, tontine, or financial circle with family members, friends, and neighbors you trust! Immigrants from places like Nigeria, Senegal and Cameroon have long used these tactics in the United States to open and expand their businesses which ultimately lead to long term prosperity and upward social mobility for the group. We must stop thinking like crabs in a barrel!


  • Get your house of worship or community group to bank black-it is as easy as switching over the account. Every Monday morning thousands of Black fellowships from around the country deposit millions of dollars into banks that are not Black-owned and operated. The state of our communities would be much healthier and prosperous if more if not most of our money was channeled into Black-owned financial institutions.


  • Divest Now!: Stop supporting businesses and institutions that take you for granted. If you are constantly given the cold shoulder or followed in stores while you shop take our Divest Now! pledge and stop giving them your hard-earned money. Vote with your wallet not your mouth. Spend where you are truly appreciated.
    "There is only one boss. The customer. He or she can fire everybody in the company by simply choosing to spend his or her money elsewhere."

    • *** BlackstarVillage.com ***