The Conscious Consumer is what we want of all African Americans / Black People.

All of our leaders – including Booker T. Washington, Marcus Garvey, W.E.B. DuBois, Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., and Huey P. Newton admonished African Americans / Black People to be mindful of our money and resources; to ‘Buy Black’ first before considering to spend our money and resources with outsiders. The lesson is as important today as it was 100-years ago; even more so today in light of the fact that we spend a larger percent of our wealth with others than we do with ourselves.

Conscious Consumers are an asset to our communities, these are people who are aware of the importance of wealth, and who understand the importance of creating and maintaining community economic health and wellness.

Conscious Consumers Protect the Black Community
Conscious Consumers protect the Black Community by practicing the philosophy of Race-First (Black First). They keep in mind their commitment and responsibility to their own. They practice the adage: ‘Charity Begins At Home’.

As a Conscious Consumer we think not only about the quality and cost of the products we want, we also think about procuring it from African Americans / Black People first! Depending upon how soon we need and or want the product of course informs the degree to which we will endeavor to get it from one of our own. “Is it local and convenient, or must I travel or order it from a distance?” are considerations we give to our quests; however, we should understand that no matter the effort required the benefits of spending with our own far outweigh anything we could possibly get from others.

Unconscious Black Consumers bankrupt the Black Community by spending their money and resources with non-Black people to the exclusion of their own. Unconscious Black Consumers unwittingly participate in the impoverishment of themselves and the Black population as a whole.

The biggest indicator of unconscious consumerism on the part of African Americans / Black people is the unrestrained spending outside of the ‘community’ with non-Black people. All reports make the case that Black-dollars have a short circulation life among Black people – only a matter of hours before it ends up in the hands of non-Black people. Whereas, in contrast non-Black people circulate dollars in their communities for days, weeks, and months before it is spent with anyone else, the least are Black people.

Another indicator of unconscious consumerism is the volume of cheap and irrelevant products we purchase as a result of impulse and ‘immediate gratification syndrome’. We are conditioned by protracted and insidious commercials to buy something immediately once we have the least bit of money. This has affected us so much so that we find it difficult to put money aside to accumulate; instead we spend on the unending running list of things we keep playing in our heads.

Conscious Consumer Practices

• Purchase quality products
• Consider cost for value
• Purchase from African Americans / Black People first
• If not from your own people, get it from people who spend money with Black people
• Chose keeping your money to build wealth instead of spending
• Practice acquiring fewer things
• Sell or trade things you no longer need, want, or use for those that you now want
• Join buying co-ops to save money and time
• Invest in generating wealth for yourself, family, and community
• Regularly donate money, time, and resources to good community causes
• Acquire properties that grow in value rather lose value