When it comes to online shopping, Porsha Williams does her homework. Before buying face wash or a new designer bag, the author, entrepreneur, activist, mother and beloved “Real Housewife of Atlanta” star Googles, reads reviews and prioritizes buying from Black-owned brands.
“I really like to research,” Williams told HuffPost. “It doesn’t have to be the exact same product every single time. Just, whatever I’m looking for, I make sure that I’m getting the best item.”
Supporting Black-owned businesses and learning about other Black entrepreneurs is important to Williams, and something she’ll happily take a few extra steps to do.
“There’s a lot of different platforms that showcase Black-owned businesses, but you can find a lot of information through Google. Then you can go to YouTube and find out about the owners of the company and how they got started,” she said. “I needed a work bag, so I Googled ‘Black-owned bags,’ and I found this really cute brand Mifland, and I’ve started purchasing their bags. That’s pretty much that’s how I do it.”
Per the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency, Black entrepreneurs in America are statistically less likely to get approved for small business loans than white entrepreneurs. Further, according to the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, Black business owners are treated inferior to white business owners when applying for loans, often being approved for less overall funding with higher interest rates.
Williams, who runs two businesses of her own, Go Naked Hair and Pampered by Porsha bedding, knows firsthand how hard it is for Black businesses to thrive in America. She has made it a mission, both personally and professionally, to highlight and continuously support Black-owned brands.
“It’s always great to highlight African American businesses, because they may not be in some of the mainstream shopping platforms,” she said.
Though Williams may be most known for her role on Bravo’s “Real Housewives of Atlanta,” she calls the show “a very small percentage of the life I’ve lived.” She’s the granddaughter of the late civil rights activist Reverend Hosea Williams. She’s also a mother, daughter, writer and activist, and has been arrested and teargassed for peacefully protesting the murders of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd.
Her activism and devotion to uplifting Black women and girls in America ultimately inspired her to write “The Pursuit of Porsha,” a memoir she hopes will one day be a map for her daughter to know who she is and where she comes from.
“I’ve lived a lot of life already. I’ve made those mistakes, I’ve cried those tears — she hasn’t had to go down that same route,” Williams said. “I can actually break some of those cycles and patterns that I found myself in, and she can learn through my journey.”
From holy grail clarifying shampoos to day planners that keep her organized, Williams shared the everyday stuff she uses from Black-owned brands.
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