Award-winning actress and singer Keke Palmer is not only an entrepreneur, but she is also a champion for women in entrepreneurship who look like her. Throughout Women’s History Month, she is celebrating Black small business owners and connecting customers to do the same in a new collaboration with Amazon.
As previously reported by BLACK ENTERPRISE, the Scream Queens star landed an exclusive media partnership with the e-commerce giant in April 2021 after releasing sketch comedy videos on Instagram. Now her influence is the gift that keeps on giving, as she sets out on a new venture to highlight the necessity of supporting Black women in business
.Amazon is working with influential voices like Palmer to introduce customers to a range of women-owned small businesses they can discover and support on Amazon.com. As per Essence, after much research, Palmer selected the following brands and people: Culture Tags, Obia Naturals, EPIC Everyday, Orijin Bees, Darlyng and Co., LIVE BY BEING, author Crystal Swain-Bates, Kanda Chocolates, and Bossy Cosmetics.
In 2018, Palmer started her own record label Big Boss Entertainment and is expected to release her upcoming album, Big Boss.
It’s safe to say that this boss’s energy ignited within her a passion for inspiring others.“My work to uplift other women who look like me is something I’m committed to every single day,” said Palmer, according to a press release. “As I evolve as a businesswoman and leader, I am inspired by the opportunity to connect with the women growing small businesses in Amazon’s store, and their work to represent themselves and their communities through their amazing ideas.”
Additionally, the collaboration continues with the launch of the “Women-Owned Small Businesses | Amazon Conversation Series,” a video conversation series between Palmer and other women entrepreneurs. On March 8, Palmer sat down with Eunique Jones Gibson, the founder and CEO of #CultureTags, and Obia Ewah, the founder and CEO of OBIA Naturals.
During the conversation, dubbed ‘Redefining who gets to be a business success story,’ the women shared their experiences as self-made Black women and entrepreneurs and how they are all advocating for more diverse leadership in business.
“It’s time to put the spotlight back on Black businesses to remind people that we gotta support each other,” Palmer told Essence. Also, to understand that when you are buying Black, you’re sometimes buying into a newer business. So they need proper support, encouragement, and tools to be able to even get to some of the places as these other corporations. It’s just the only way that we continue to create not only generational wealth for our community.”
To me, it just makes sense — it’s to counteract all of the systemic injustices. We have to go that much harder to push black businesses to the forefront.