Malik wasn’t trying to start a movement. He was just tired.
Tired of scrolling past headlines about DEI rollbacks. Tired of watching friends’ businesses close while big chains stayed packed. Tired of feeling like his dollars never reached the people he cared about.
One late night, half-distracted and half-frustrated, he typed a simple phrase into his search bar: “Black-owned businesses near me.” That click led him to Black Pages International. A quiet directory page loaded on his phone—plain text, clear categories, no flashy ads. Just names, addresses, websites. Real people. Real businesses.
He started small. Coffee from a Black-owned café instead of the national chain. A birthday gift from a Black-owned boutique he found in the directory. A haircut from a shop he’d never noticed, even though he’d driven past it for years. Each choice felt small. But each one left a different kind of peace in his chest.
After a month, Malik realized something had shifted. He wasn’t just supporting Black business. He was building a different kind of habit. A different kind of neighborhood. A different kind of future.
The directory hadn’t changed his income. It had changed his aim.
Standing in line at yet another Black-owned spot, he smiled. Maybe this is what stewardship looks like in this season—using a simple search and a willing heart to quietly redirect the flow.
Sometimes faith looks like where you point your browser first.
