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On July 7, 2020, the Des Moines Black Lives Matter organization joined the nationwide movement to encourage spending at Black-owned businesses. The Black Lives Matter movement designated each Tuesday as Blackout day to help increase business at local shops owned by Black individuals. This movement was intended to increase awareness about Black-owned businesses in the area and encourage the community to support them. Below are two Black-owned businesses worth checking out.

LIFESTYLE JUICES

Lifestyle Juices is a Black-owned business located at 2418 University Ave., across from Drake University. This business is owned by Nico Ncquist and his wife and is operated primarily by Ncquist. His kids help out on the weekends and when they have breaks from school. 

Lifestyle Juices started about four years ago.

“It started because I worked for restaurants most of my life and I wanted to serve something more healthy and give back to my community,” Ncquist said.

Lifestyle Juices is a smoothie and juice bar. All of the drinks are made with natural, fresh ingredients from scratch when ordered. Lifestyle Juices also offers protein smoothies as well as ginger and wheat-grass shots to boost immunity. According to the Lifestyle Juices Facebook page, juicing infuses vitamins, minerals and enzymes into the body without having it broken down.

The most popular item on the menu is a shake called Sweet Greens. This drink is made with kiwi, apple, spinach and kale.

“People always try to get the green drink because they find it to be a little bit more healthier,” Ncquist said. 

Ncquist put the menu together himself, mixing different fruits and vegetables together and taste testing his creations with his family. Ncquist said that his experience from working in the kitchen gave him a good idea of what ingredients work well together. 

“I think it is very important (for people to support local Black-owned businesses) especially here in Iowa because Black-owned businesses in Iowa are maybe 2% or less,” Ncquist said. “We need more Black-owned businesses in Iowa. They say Black people don’t support Black people, but that is not true because I would say maybe 60-75% of the young Blacks are the returning customers and help support this business.”

ZUMI

May Black entrepreneurs start businesses inspired by Black culture. Zumi is a retail store located on 1141 42nd St. in Des Moines by Drake University. The owner, Lu Spaine, started out selling her products at the Downtown Farmers’ Market for seven years, before opening her store. Zumi has a diverse collection of women’s ethnic wear, African art, home decór and jewelry. 

“I sell things from developing countries,” Spaine said. “I focus on Africa, Asia, South America, and I also feature a pretty good amount of Certified Fair Trade items.”

Fair Trade is a worldwide movement to make sure that workers get paid fairly based on their economy and are working in safe conditions. Along with selling items from Fair Trade, Spaine has recently added her own wholesale clothing line that is manufactured in Thailand, where small groups of women produce the clothing rather than laborers in a sweatshop. She sells her clothing line in Zumi and to various boutiques around the country as well. 

Spaine said that jewelry and clothing are the top selling items. A lot of the jewelry that she sells in her store is handmade and created with sustainable products. She started her business because she enjoys the unique qualities that can be found in various cultures around the world.

These kinds of businesses uplift communities, promoting a sense of pride in Black culture around the world. Zumi brings products from around the world to Iowa that are valuable for the unique character they bring. 

“I think that (the community) needs to support all local businesses but particularly Black-owned businesses,” Spaine said. “We have been rated by national surveys as being near the bottom in the country as far as opportunities for African Americans, and I think that’s rather embarrassing, especially when they get rated in the top two or three as far as place to live so there is a huge disparity there that needs to be addressed. … Everybody should be doing well and should be prospering.” 

Shopping locally has many benefits to the economy, including the increase of job opportunities. Since Black-owned businesses are typically smaller businesses, they are likely to hire from the local community. 

According to Green Business Network in an article by Mary Meade and Sytonia Reid, in 2019 the median wealth for white families was about 12 times more than what Black families make. One in four Black households have zero or negative net worth compared to less than one in 10 white families. By supporting more Black-owned businesses, Black families and individuals will be more likely to have opportunities for property ownership and generational wealth.

A study conducted by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition in 2017 found that banks are twice as likely to supply business loans to white applicants than Black applicants. Supporting Black-owned businesses can increase the income of those businesses, which in turn attracts investors.  Supporting Black-owned businesses even just once a week can help encourage the diversity Black-owned businesses bring to our community.