Black-owned businesses are ready for holiday shoppers. Here are 9 places to go
As corporations reduce or eliminate their diversity, equity and inclusion policies, Black consumers are reconsidering their loyalties to companies that once claimed they were investing in Black communities.
The financial decision has led to more support of smaller minority-owned businesses.
As many Black consumers boycott big retailers, the Miami Herald has compiled a sampling of smaller Black businesses and nonprofits for you to consider patronizing on Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and throughout the holiday shopping season. Some have South Florida brick-and-mortar locations, and others can be found online or on social media.
Here’s a roundup of nine places to shop:
Candles by K
Karty Pierre established Candles by K in April 2024 to encourage people to focus on their self-care. Candles by K products include candles, soaps and body oils.
“They shouldn’t let being busy, bothered or burnt out dim their light,” Pierre said.
The brand’s body oils, she said, are a top seller.
Pierre believes companies should support Black-owned businesses because they tend to produce great work.
“I really think people are here to support businesses that make an impact in their lives,” she said. “If that’s a Black business doing it, please support us.”
Contact
Instagram: instagram.com/ccandlesk/?hl=en
Black History Flashcards
Dr. Von D. Mizell, who helped establish Provident Hospital for Black Americans, and civil rights activist Eula Mae Johnson are just a few of the people you will learn about with the help of Emmanuel George’s Broward Black history flashcards.
George, along with David Paulo, also known by his online moniker ShotByLeather, created the flashcards earlier this year. They have been selling them through their online portal where they explore Black history and culture in South Florida.
The crux of George’s work has always been rooted in telling the stories of Black history, which he’s done through his online platform, Black Broward. The flashcards can be purchased for $20.
Contact
Website: historyartculture.com
MORE: This historian wants you to learn Broward’s Black history. His flashcards might help
Tunez Footwear
When Tunez Footwear founder Michael Stover had a toe partially amputated in August 2023, a doctor advised that he wear orthopedic shoes. Not impressed with his options, the DJ and graphic designed was told to design his own shoes. “I took that as a challenge and put it to work,” he said.
Within two weeks, Stover had a pitch deck and within three months he had a prototype of his Tunez Footwear. Nearly 18 months after that doctor appointment, Stover raised $120,000 in funding to produce his shoes.
Stover sees Tunez Footwear as a more stylish option to orthopedic shoes on the market and believes Black businesses are important because they often pour back into the community.
“From having cleaner parks around or more day care or better incentives at work, a lot of people pour back into their communities with Black-owned businesses,” he said.
Contact
Website: tunezfootwear.com
Instagram: instagram.com/tunezfootwear/?hl=en
Roots Bookstore
Miami activist Danny Agnew had long talked about opening a bookstore in Liberty City. Two years after his death, his brother Phillip Agnew and friend Isaiah Thomas opened Roots Bookstore in Liberty City, with shelves that include several books that have been recently banned in Florida’s classrooms and school libraries.
Since it opened on Juneteenth, the bookstore has become a beacon for lively conversations, book signings, and activism and resistance work in Miami. Thomas said it’s important for Black consumers to shop at Black businesses because it helps reinvest in communities.
“Supporting a Black business is important, not only for the entire outlook, but supporting those businesses means supporting Black employees as well,” he said. “Keeping that money inside our community is very important to us.”
Contact
Address: 6610 NW 15th Ave., Miami
Website: rootsbookstore.com/
MORE: On Juneteenth, their dream of bringing a bookstore to Liberty City becomes reality
Melanated Beauty Spa
Maghan Morin wants women of color to feel confident in their skin. It’s part of the reason she founded her Pembroke Pines-based business, Melanated Beauty Spa. Morin, who founded the spa in 2021, said she grew up suffering from cystic acne, which took a mental toll and affected her self-confidence. She didn’t want other women of color to feel the same way.
“I want more people of color to feel like this is something that they need,” she said. “You don’t have to have skin issues to get a facial. It can just be a monthly maintenance thing that you do for yourself, a feel good thing.”
Still, Morin is acutely aware of what her customers may be dealing with in a challenging economy. Her spa is offering 60% off facials and products on Black Friday and will announce a Cyber Monday special on Sunday.
“I wanted it to be attainable for what people are going through during the holiday season,” she said. “How can we meet them in the middle? We’re giving a lot. Obviously, we’re probably going to take a hit, which is fine, but at the end of the day, I think we’re supporting our community in a positive way. When things get better, we just hope that they continue to support us.”
Morin said it’s important to patronize Black businesses because it strengthens the community.
“We spend so much in the beauty industry and to take our dollars elsewhere, is doing a huge disservice, not only to our generation, but future generations,” she said.
Contact
Address: 10350 Pines Blvd., Pembroke Pines
Text: 954-310-3436 (text only)
Email and website: info@melanatedbeautyspa.com, melanatedbeautyspa.com/
1GR Urbanwear
Before getting into business, North Miami entrepreneur 1GR Urbanwear CEO and owner Jovany Appolon worked at a Hertz rental car office and his uncle Bazile Bourdeau worked as a Walmart manager. They decided to take a risk and go into business together.
In June 2025, Appolon started a business to provide residents with community, fashion and style. The store sells trendy clothing, footwear and accessories designed to appeal to urban fashion lovers.
“The most important reason for you to shop with Black-owned businesses is because you are supporting your community,” Appolon said. “If I’m doing business, I’m putting it back in the community.”
Contact
Address: 13635 NW Seventh Ave, North Miami
Website: drip305.com/
Instagram: instagram.com/1gr_urbanwear/?hl=en
Dungeon Forward
Fort Lauderdale entrepreneur and architect David J. Castro II wanted to create a brand that reflected his creativity and allowed him to support his family. As the founder of Dungeon Forward, he has created a clothing brand that has partnered with 41 historically Black colleges and universities and reflects his Black pride.
Hats are top sellers for the brand, and one features two Black Olympic medalists putting up their fists in protest. Castro said that consumers should support Black-owned businesses because those businesses “represent excellence.”
“I think people should support Black-owned businesses because they’re great,” he said. “We are an incredible brand that speaks to the people, and then we’re a Black-owned business. It’s also associated with a culture that has been targeted in ways that impeded our ability to flourish.”
Contact
Website: dungeonforward.com/
Instagram: instagram.com/dungeonforward/?hl=en
Eat Well Exchange
Liberty City native Ashley Carter was inspired to help start Eat Well Exchange, a Miami nonprofit, because of the food insecurity in her neighborhood. Growing up, both of Carter’s parents had diabetes and many of her neighbors had diabetes or high blood pressure. She graduated from Florida State University with the goal of helping others like her.
“We need this information for our health,” he said. “Only 2.7% of dieticians are Black. For me, it was about meeting people where they are.”
Eat Well Exchange does hands-on cooking classes that show people of all backgrounds how to prepare healthy meals. The nonprofit also hosts farmer’s markets through Miami and has a garden-to-table program that teaches people how to grow food on their own. Carter said that supporting Black nonprofits is important because of their missions to support the community.
“We can’t just be in survival mode for long periods of time,” she said. “That shouldn’t be your norm.”
Contact
Website: eatwellexchange.org/
Instagram: instagram.com/eatwellexchange/?hl=en
South Florida People of Color
For the past decade, the South Florida People of Color has been committed to bringing people of diverse backgrounds together to discuss current events and racial issues while finding common ground in the process.
“We really need to come together. But in order to do that, we need to understand the history, the real history, and then we need to also talk to each other, because then we will see the connection that we have,” founder Roni Bennett said.
And now, more than ever, Bennett said those conversations are needed. She was not shy about the challenges the organization has faced amid a rash of cutbacks to investments into diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
Bennett said giving to Black nonprofits is essential at a time when DEI has been targeted, and noted such nonprofits always see a challenge in gaining and maintaining donors. According to a report by the Young Black and Giving institute, 87% of Black-led and Black-benefiting nonprofits often have trouble accessing a large, diverse number of funding sources.
“If you don’t have the amount of funding to really make an impact, then you’re just kind of just struggling,” she said.
Donations toward SFPOC go toward their Awkward Dinner events, which aim to dismantle racism through honest conversations, and their Redlining tour, which takes people on a field trip through neighborhoods that have struggled under the weight of historically discriminatory practices.
MORE: ‘We’re in trouble’: Miami DEI leader says state policies left the industry in freefall
Contact
Website: southfloridapoc.org/
This story was originally published November 28, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
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