15 Percent Pledge urges major retailers including Target and Sephora to 'buy black' and dedicate shelf space to black-owned businesses

• 15 Percent Pledge is a new effort calling upon major national retailers to dedicate 15% of their shelf space to support black-owned businesses.
• The site — which went live on Monday on the heels of widespread protests against police brutality and the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor — asks companies, like Target, Sephora, Whole Foods, and Shopbop, to sign a petition in support of the effort.
• "BUY BLACK. Your protests and donations are crucial right now but so is long-term economic change," Mona Chalabi, an illustrator who designed infographics for the site, wrote on Instagram.

After the barrage of posts from brands on social media claiming support of the Black Lives Matter movement, the 15 Percent Pledge is looking to keep them honest.

The new effort calls upon major retailers, including Target, Sephora, Whole Foods, and Shopbop, to pledge 15% of their shelf space to black-owned businesses and business owners. The site, which went live on Monday, includes a link to a petition and urges support for the more than 124,000 black-owned businesses in the US that are seeking help amid the coronavirus outbreak and economic downturn.

On Instagram, the 15 Percent Pledge already has 11,000 followers, and its four posts are filled with followers tagging retailers ranging from Walmart to Nordstrom and Net-A-Porter to encourage them to join the effort. The effort comes on the heels of widespread protests and uprisings around the country against police brutality and the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.

"You asked how you can help," the site states. "This is your opportunity to collectively put $14.5B back into black communities."

Using infographics illustrated by artist Mona Chalabi, the site highlights how black business owners are disproportionately struggling during the coronavirus outbreak and economic downturn. According to one graphic, 21% of black-owned business owners say they don't think they'll survive the pandemic, compared to 5% of white-owned business owners.

Another illustration shows that 40% of black-owned businesses have already fully shuttered as a result of COVID-19.

"BUY BLACK," Chalabi wrote on Instagram. "Your protests and donations are crucial right now but so is long-term economic change."

The 15 Percent Pledge comes in tandem with a slew of Twitter threads, Google Docs, and Instagram posts this week compiling information about how to buy from and support both national and local black-owned communities.

"Black business needs your support today, tomorrow, always," the 15 Percent Pledge states.