You Profit From Our Community—But Do You Invest in It?

Every day, people in Black communities spend their hard-earned money at gas stations, liquor stores, beauty supply stores, convenience stores, small restaurants, and many other neighborhood businesses.

These businesses survive because the community supports them. Customers return week after week, month after month, and year after year. Yet too often, the relationship feels one-sided.

In some establishments, customers are rarely greeted with a smile or a sincere “thank you.” Instead, they may feel watched from the moment they enter until the moment they leave. They are treated with suspicion, even though their money helps pay the rent, the employees, and the owner’s bills.

That raises an important question:

How can you profit from a community that you do not respect?

Many business owners live outside the neighborhoods where their stores are located. They may donate to schools, churches, organizations, and community programs where they live, while giving little or nothing back to the community that supports their business.

There is nothing wrong with helping the community where you live. But there is something troubling about collecting money from another community every day and never investing anything back into it.

Giving back does not always require thousands of dollars. A business owner could sponsor a youth sports team, provide school supplies, support a neighborhood cleanup, donate meals to seniors, offer a scholarship, hire local residents, or contribute to a community organization.

Even basic respect is a form of giving back.

Say hello when customers enter. Say thank you when they make a purchase. Keep the property clean. Treat people with dignity. Become part of the neighborhood instead of simply making money from it.

As a Black man, I must also ask: If I wanted to open a business in a community where most residents did not look like me, would I receive the same level of support?

Would those residents continue shopping at my business if I never greeted them, constantly watched them, hired few people from their community, and refused to support their schools or organizations?

Probably not.

They would demand respect, good service, accountability, and community involvement. Black communities should expect the same.

This conversation is not about attacking every business owner. There are many owners who treat customers well, hire locally, support neighborhood programs, and genuinely care about the people they serve. Those businesses deserve recognition and continued support.

However, businesses that depend on Black dollars must understand that our communities are more than marketplaces. They are places where families live, children attend school, seniors struggle, and young people search for opportunities.

Our money should not leave the community without creating some form of benefit in return.

Black consumers also have power. We can ask questions before spending our money:

Does this business respect its customers?

Does it hire people from the neighborhood?

Does it keep its property clean?

Does it support local schools, churches, youth programs, or community organizations?

Does it treat the community as a partner—or simply as a source of profit?

A healthy business relationship must work both ways. The community supports the business, and the business should support the community.

Do not simply operate in our neighborhoods. Become part of them.

Support the people who support you.

Respect the people who keep your doors open.

And remember: without the community, there is no business.

Read. Share. Join the conversation.

Do businesses in your community give back—or do they simply take the money and leave?

Marvin Dixon/Founder

VMGreview.com, Verifacts Investigation, and Frontline Investigator Training Academy.