Buy Black Friday

Redistributing the power of Black Friday toward supporting Black small businesses.

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Watch the 2021 BuyBlack Friday Campaign Recap

Catalyst

In summer of 2020, as the nation reckoned with police brutality and systemic racism, Rachael Hawk asked herself what more could she be doing to lift up the Black community. She decided to use her position as a small business marketer at Facebook to support Black businesses and bring some measure of hope and prosperity to a community that had been devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Rachael formed a hackathon team with her teammate and friend Remi Ray. Together, they came up with an idea for a live shopping event that would showcase Black businesses and culture during the busiest shopping day of the year: Black Friday.

Origin Story

Impact & Leadership

But the most impressive part of Rachael's #BuyBlack Friday story is the way she led the initiative, taking it from concept to execution. Rachael grew the team from eight to nearly two hundred, and she was their leader, inspiring them with her passion and dedication to the cause. In the end, more than 15 million people tuned into #BuyBlack Friday and the program drove significant impact for the over 80 small businesses it spotlighted. One business, Redoux NYC, saw a 1300% increase in sales.

The work continued in 2021 and following years.

“If we introduce these amazing small, Black-owned businesses to people on the biggest shopping day of the year, then maybe they'll be inspired to buy Black year-round.” Bustle

“By supporting Black businesses, we’re supporting Black communities.” Sky News Daily Podcast

Press Features

“The program was created by Black employees and some really passionate allies who are really serious about making a real impact for these businesses.” Forbes

“Bringing all the emotions, the sadness, some of the anger, all of that into work.” The Grio

“Part of what I have always wanted to do in my career is support diverse communities. Everything came together for it to happen in this moment.” BET

“I felt like I couldn’t continue in my role business as usual.” Black Enterprise

Only 1% finished…

Awards and recognition have come pouring in. Buy Black won a slew of industry awards including: a Shorty Award for the best use of Facebook Live, a Webby Award in the category for Interview/Talk Show Social, and a place on the Cannes Lions shortlist for Creative eCommerce.

In spite of being a new face in the industry, Rachael has been sought after to speak about her work in inclusion. In addition to speaking at a fireside chat with Sheryl Sandberg broadcast to all Facebook employees, Rachael was invited by the Female Quotient to speak as a featured panelist. She was also a guest speaker on Sky News podcast George Floyd: individuals step up their fight for inclusivity. In each, she spoke on her support for diverse small businesses and encouraged others to use their voices to lift up others.