in response to a project i was working on today, i posted this question on facebook and twitter receiving responses from my friends who represent diverse cultural, social, professional, and economic backgrounds.  the responses that came in ranged from the emotional to the rational.   however, the majority of comments were actually questions dealing with the definition of “buying black”:  are they products produced by black owned businesses, targeted towards blacks, or even just believed to be a way to buy “blackness;” the commodification of certain cultural values thought to be possesed by black people.

for blacks, there is an added benefit to "buying black."

although the secondary data to support either way is extremely limited (both we and the client were disappointed), the story my fantastic team was able to pull together suggests that the answer is’yes.’  at the end of the day,for blacks, supporting black owned businesses is more than just about buying a product, it is about supporting community (an incredibly important value when it comes to this consumer base).   a look at sales data from a few very popular brands belonging to black owned businesses validates the argument showing that blacks account for the majority of sales.  in addition, anecdotal support through personal stories and examples like this recent blog post here support the idea as well.  

so, although there is no definitive data, as of yet, on this issue.  the jury is leaning heavily towards yes.  what then are the marketing, advertising, business, financial, social, and cultural implications of “buying black?”