Like so many others, the boiling frustration with America has me trying to figure out ways to hit them where it hurts most. If you’re a card-carrying, red-blooded American, you know what America loves and respects more than anything. Yep, that’s right. Money. And if there is one thing Black people have figured out, it’s that our pleas will fall on deaf ears for a lifetime, but our missing dollar will be noticed all but instantly. So, in my own act of resistance, I moseyed on over to WeBuyBlack.com to circulate some Black dollars.

The site, while not incredibly busy or tough to navigate, did seem to lack a wide selection of products, but the Black Wall Street is in the infancy of its resurgence, and these things take time. No problem. Yet, I knew I wanted WeBuyBlack.com to take my money, and just as I’d given up sifting through the categories, I came across what the site calls “The Big Black Bag” Awwww hell!

The blind buy promised to include more than $100 of hand-picked “amazing products from the African American community” and “a FREE WeBuyBlack T-shirt!” I was sold. It was a simple process. You select a gender, give them a t-shirt size and one easy payment of $100 ($107 including shipping) via credit card or PayPal, and you’re on your Black-ass way.

Now, the shipping took a little longer than I’m accustomed to, but we'll get there. Again, these things take time. Eventually my box showed up, just as normal, lacking all frills. Real Southwest Airlines style. No fancy wrapping or tissue paper. There were no handwritten notes spritzed with a nice fragrance nor a live butterfly delicately floating out upon opening said box to celebrate its arrival. It was a box. I took to it without much care, slicing it open with a dull knife and unveiling an awkward hodgepodge of items that were, well, practical and useful.

Skin I’m In Luxurious Body Bar by Akoyn Beauty

The first item I unpacked was the Pink Cranberry Luxurious Oil Cleaning Bar, by Akoyn Beauty (@akoynbeauty). This bar is made with Cranberry Seed Oil and is said to tone and soften. Fancy. The first thing I noticed was the eye-catching box, and upon flipping it over, I took note that I could actually pronounce everything listed in the ingredients. That’s pretty rare and dope. The next thing was the incredibly strong scent permeating from the box. Fruity and sweet, but a bit overwhelming. As soon as I opened the box, the smell was explained, as the beauty bar was not wrapped in any scent blocking paper or plastic, but rather placed directly in the box. As someone who had always been prone to headaches as a child, triggered by walking through bath and body works or the perfume section at Macy’s, this bar seemed to set off a similar reaction.

But that’s no shade though. My reaction was probably a simple symptom of my preexisting allergies. No harm, no foul. Nonetheless, I decided to wash my hands with the bar, you know, just in case my body really were to have a reaction. The bar does a fantastic job of cleaning without stripping the skin of moisture and also comes in unscented, minty lime, tropical fruit and royal lavender scents. The company also boasts a simple, yet seemingly complete catalog of body soaps and moisturizers, facial tools and complexion kits, and shampoos. The brand was founded by Nynoka Grant , a native of the Bahamas who left home to pursue higher education in the United States. Nynoka founded Akoyn Beauty in 2019. Their online store can be found at www.akoynbeauty.com.

The #1 EDGE Control by Claudio St. James & Company

Okay, don’t take my Black card for this next statement. But, I’ve never actually used edge control. So yeah, when I unpacked the 4oz jar of edge control by Claudio St. James & Company (@claudiostjamesandcompany), I wasn’t really sure how to test it. But one glance while walking by a mirror reminded me that my faux locs were indeed a bit weathered, and in need of a little care. The gel was an impressive consistency, harder than I would’ve expected, but easy enough to deal with. The more solid consistency actually kept me from using too much. It smelled amazing, kind of like the perfect mixture of lemon and that 50-year-old woman at work who calls all the Black people “baby”. It’s just right.

Caribbean Sparkle Perm & Braid Sheen by Claudio St. James & Company

Also made by Claudio St. James & Company, the Big Black Bag included the Caribbean Sparkle Perm and Braid Sheen Polish with Conditioner. The 8 fluid ounce bottle listed simple ingredients: super-refined oils and fragrance. In this case, my time-beaten faux locs came in handy. I liberally sprayed my locs with the sheen, hoping they’d revive the shine, and while I can’t say that my locs look any newer, they certainly smell like African heaven. Claudio St. James & Company was founded by S. Tucker, who stated that he created his first product, an oil-sheen conditioner for braids with Vitamin E, because his wife pointed out the saturation of water-based products in the market. Claudio St. James and Company’s catalog includes hair stylers, oils and treatments. They can be found online at www.claudiostjamesandcompany.com.

Browndages

You probably guessed from the name “Browndages” that my Big Black Bag included a deluxe set of custom child-size bandages. Cute. Real cute. No for real. These things are freaking adorable. Browndages (@Browndages) is the brainchild of husband and wife duo, Rashid and Intisar who were simply trying to fill a need in the market, because word to Band-Aid, Black people get boo-boos too!

I was sent a pack of 20 girls bandages, tucked away neatly in a swaggy tin can that was cool to look at and informative to read. The bandages featured two characters, Gibson, an aspiring firewoman and Nova, a future florist. And while I opened the can expecting to find brown-toned bandages, these were actually all shades of purples, yellows, and red. Something for the kids I guess. Nice. Again, a practical pick. You can shop and learn more online at www.browndages.com.

K Cotton Swabs

It wouldn’t be a Big Black Bag if it didn’t include something pertaining to cotton. But to be honest, I was in luck, because my ears had been itching for the last few days. And here presented the perfect excuse to ignore every medical professional’s advice and stick a long and narrow object into my ear. So I did! And while I’d love to say that K Cotton Swabs massaged my inner tubes like nothing I’d ever felt, the truth is, these swabs went in and came out like any other cotton swab — and that’s a good thing. Because from here on out, I know that I have a comparable replacement for Q-tips.

I also like that this company does what it does. K Cotton Swabs sells…cotton swabs. They sell cotton swabs in 1, 2, and 4 packs of 220 pieces. Their strategy is to be the best in the cotton swab market and to grab market share in that space. Lovely. So yeah, get your swab on. I’m sorry. I had to. There isn’t much information about K Cotton Swabs’ founders, but you can shop and look around their website, full of cotton swabs, at www.kcottonswabs.com. Swaaaaaab! Okay. I’m done.

60w LED Light Bulbs by Umoja Lighting

Now, let me say that I didn’t even know Black people were out here playing with electricity and currents and resistors and stuff. We're out here making light bulbs?! When I unpacked the 4 pack of LED bulbs, I was immediately proud. Because look at us. Just out here saving money, and energy and planets and what now. Umoja Lighting was founded in 2019, with the mission to provide consumers with high-quality LED solutions. Founder Rob Jackson started the company as a means of giving back to his community. And he did so by offering a product that he knew would be used for the foreseeable future of real estate.

The bulbs come packaged in what I would imagine lightbulbs in Wakanda are packed in. I mean, don’t get me wrong, these bulbs come in a box, but that box screams Black pride. The word Umoja can be seen everywhere and each box has a Black hero spotlight, complete with biography. Swag. I went on and replaced the bulb in one of my bedside lamps with an Umoja bulb and purposefully did all the things I’d do in a typical night. The 800 lumen bulb gives off a warm light, which is fantastic for before bed activities. I’ll be replacing three additional fixtures with these bulbs and purchasing more. You can find more information and shop Umoja Lighting online at www.umojalighting.com.

Luxury Ankara Bed Linens by Peppy Valentine

This was probably the most surprising item received. The largest and certainly the bulk of my $100 worth of product, I was sent a set of Peppy Valentine’s Luxury Ankara bed sheets which was, apparently, “crafted to elevate the experience of culture within my home.” How they knew I had a king size bed, I don’t know, but I appreciate the assumption. They were right (humble brag). Now, I will say that I failed to make my entire bed with this bed set, because, well, it’s a lot to look at, but I did want to get a feel for the quality. After washing the bed set and drying the linens as I would any other, I can say that the color held up and they were incredibly soft to touch. The set comes in twin, queen, full, and king size sets, ranging from $49 to $79.

Peppy Valentine was founded in1989 and provides designer African print bed sheets that bring “style, luxury, sophistication and the beauty of Wakanda into your home.” I’m not sure how beds in Wakanda look, so I can’t speak to that comparison, but I will say if you are looking to sleep in living color, this is the way to go. The sheets are fantastic quality. You can get a set of your own online at www.peppyvalentine.com.

Overall, my WeBuyBlack.com experience led me to some fantastic products that will certainly come to replace everyday purchases, and that’s the power of this marketplace. It’s normalizing buying normal things for normal Black life from Black businesses. I’d dare to bet that the shipping and selection of products will improve and increase. I’m hopeful.

If you’d like to know anymore about these products, please visit WeBuyBlack.com or reach out to me directly. I’m happy to help.