What Happens When the Support Fades?
Community Is the Capital That Keeps Us Alive
The summer of 2020 marked a shift in public attention. For a brief window, the world paused to acknowledge the systemic inequalities Black people have long carried. Social media feeds turned into timelines of solidarity. Black-owned businesses were tagged, amplified, and flooded with orders. A wave of public pledges promised change, investment, and long-term commitment.
What came next felt familiar. The momentum slowed. The funding dried up. And many of those black squares sat quietly on profiles that never circled back to the people they claimed to stand beside.
Performative Moments Create Real Pressure
Visibility brings opportunities, but it also creates expectations that are rarely matched with support. In the early weeks of that 2020 surge, Black-owned brands saw a spike in interest unlike anything before. Consumers rushed in. Retailers scrambled to feature Black designers. News outlets ran feel-good stories of long-overdue recognition.
But when the attention disappeared, so did the dollars. What was framed as a cultural awakening for many businesses turned into a temporary performance for others watching from the outside. The reality is, we’re still living with the impact of that drop-off.
In a recent Spectrum News feature, the story of that shift was told through my work and others in Los Angeles. CISE was built in that same year, during that same storm, on the belief that fashion could carry a message and move resources. What’s clear now is that the long-term change we need won’t come from temporary enthusiasm. It has to come from consistency.
Allyship Requires Action, Not Just Aesthetics
Support without follow-through does more harm than good. When a consumer posts a list of Black-owned brands but never shops them, that disconnect is felt. When corporations run equity campaigns without shifting their internal practices, that silence speaks volumes.
This gap between messaging and behavior is more than frustrating, it’s destabilizing. It creates unpredictable spikes in revenue and attention, without providing the tools or infrastructure for growth. Brands get elevated, only to be dropped once the news cycle shifts.
Support means being there when the room is quiet. It means making intentional buying decisions year after year, not just during Black History Month or when social media makes it trendy. The same care people take with shopping sustainably or ethically should apply to where they spend their money in terms of racial equity.
Funding Disparities Are Still the Norm
Data reveals a stark truth: the money never really followed the movement. According to the SBA, Black-owned startups received an average of $500 in outside investment in 2024. White-owned startups received $18,500. That kind of gap doesn’t just slow growth, it strangles it.
Even as the headlines quiet down, the numbers speak. Black business owners are still less likely to be fully approved for loans. Still more likely to self-fund. Still underrepresented in every form of capital deployment. And yet, still expected to show up and deliver like every other brand in the room.
For businesses like CISE, the solution has never been to rely on those systems. Instead, it’s about leaning on each other. Investing in each other. Creating partnerships and collaborations that circulate resources within the community, even when broader support fades.
Community Is the Safety Net
What major institutions have failed to build, community has stepped in to provide. Black business owners are mentoring each other, showing up for each other’s launches, cross-promoting, and circulating dollars with care. That’s what was captured in the Spectrum segment. Not a story of failure, but of resilience.
From The Serving Spoon in Inglewood to Coffee Del Mundo in Watts, the message was the same, survival has come from local networks, not federal grants. From consumers choosing to return, not perform. From people continuing to show up after the headlines moved on.
CISE was built with community in mind. Not just the one we sell to, but the one we invest in. Whether through donations, partnerships, or presence. That work will continue, even when the camera crews are gone. But it doesn’t mean the silence isn’t loud.
Final Thoughts
Trends fade. Algorithms move on. But the impact of your choices as a consumer stays. If 2020 meant something to you, then so should 2025. Not as a moment of urgency, but as a commitment to equity that lives in the way you spend, shop, and show up.
Watch the full Spectrum News feature here:
Thoughtful Questions for You:
What brands or creators did you support in 2020? Have you returned since?
Where does your money go when you’re not being prompted?
How might consistent consumer behavior do more than any one-time donation?