As of 2023, there are more than 2.6 million Black-owned businesses in America. Black-owned businesses play a pivotal role in creating jobs and economic growth within Black communities.
Not only do they foster job opportunities, but they also serve as catalysts for breaking down barriers that have systematically been placed on Black communities. Black-owned businesses also promote more broader business products that incorporate the creativity and evolving nature of Black American culture.
Black-owned businesses have faced a multitude of barriers spanning generations. Despite numerous barriers that sought to under-represent and devalue Black-owned businesses, Black business leaders have thrived and adapted to a changing market.
One of the very first Black-owned businesses was EE Ward Moving and Storage which began in the 1840s in Ohio and supported the Underground Railroad.
Following the Civil War, new opportunities were available to Black Americans that fostered a new sense of creating products and businesses that catered to their own communities.
By the early twentieth century, new Black entrepreneurs formed major businesses, such as the first self-made millionaire Madame C. J. Walker, whose hair care and cosmetic line was specially targeted to Black women.
Prior to Madame C.J. Walker’s hair and cosmetic line, very few commercial cosmetic products were catered to Black women, showing the sparse representation that Black cosmetic needs have had amongst many major cosmetic lines.
C.J Walker’s multi-million dollar business illustrates the importance and impact that Black-owned businesses can have on communities that foster a sense of identity and self-pride.
Black-owned businesses serve as important cultural hubs that preserve Black American history and traditions that have for the most part of American history been disregarded, lost, or unrecorded.
When Black-owned businesses like Alaffia or Bee Love thrive, they become beckons of hope and change for future Black business owners. By supporting Black-owned businesses, it entails a future self-sufficiency and cultural preservation that for generations Black Americans have cultivated in the face of oppression.
One Black-owned business that is located in Rancho Cucamonga is Lemons Baking Co. The owner is Cherell Lemons, and she is a Rancho Cucamonga native. Prior to her becoming a business owner, Lemons would post her treats on her private social media. She is self-taught and attained permits to work out of her home kitchen.
You have to bet on yourself and don’t let anybody tell you that you cannot do something that you desire. If you desire to accomplish something, that means you can accomplish it. That’s what I live by.”
— Cherell Lemons
Lemons specializes in decorated sugar cookies, chocolate chip cookies, cakes, and customized orders. People often give her party invitations, decorations, and inspiration pictures so she can match the theme of the event to the treats.
When asked about some of the barriers she faced as a Black business owner Lemons said, “Even though its algorithms can be discriminatory, social media is a helpful asset to Black business owners and the vast amount of diversity on social media is good for the outreach.
Lemons also added, “I think that social media has given us a different outlet, voice, reach, and audience. I feel a lot more confident now that I have been on social media, and now I can interact with people now in person. Once you build up that sort of confidence, you can share that with others and they can start their businesses, and they’ll share it with others, and they’ll start their businesses.”
Lemons and other Black business leaders represent the Black community’s growing perseverance and constant adaptation to new. Lemon said, “It’s all about building that community [and] building up those around you. I definitely see us expanding and growing through the help of social media.”
Lemons added, “You have to bet on yourself and don’t let anybody tell you that you cannot do something that you desire. If you desire to accomplish something, that means you can accomplish it. That’s what I live by.”
Lemon’s advice to up-and-coming or future Black entrepreneurs is to “bet on yourself, build your confidence, and just go for it.”
Her TikTok, Instagram, and Yelp are @LemonsBakingCo.