Are you a black-owned business in Brooklyn? Add it to this new map to help people find you

There’s no scientific study we can cite off-hand to prove it, but we’ll say it anyway: supporting black-owned business in Brooklyn is one of the best ways to slow the effects of gentrification. Black folks make up the bulk of the borough’s veteran residency, and amidst all the “DoBro” developments and papa-riddled coffee shops, segments of the community we fight to retain can be found (and supported).

And if you’re a black-owned business in Brooklyn that’s been around for a while, you’ve maybe had at least one developer offer you a sizable sum of money to buy your property. And that may be a tempting way to go. But another thing you could do is add your business to this interactive map called “Backing Black Business.” As reported by Mashable:

The eponymous activist organization behind the Black Lives Matter movement is partnering with New York ad agency J. Walter Thompson to create a nationwide interactive map to show shoppers where to find restaurants, mom-and-pop stores and other small businesses owned by African Americans.

For now, the bulk of recorded businesses — in categories that include Health and Beauty, Food and Beverage and Entertainment — seem centered in LA, but Brooklyn already has Wonderful People Co., Wray’s Caribbean and Seafood, Heavenly Crumbs Bakery, Black on Black, BCake NY, Breukelen Coffee House and Cheryl’s Global Soul on the map. We know there are way more that need to be added.

The map is searchable by zip code, for those on the consumer side looking to find where to shop.

As per Mashable, the goal is “to tap social networks and black business owners themselves to build a sizable directory in all 50 states by the end of next year.”

“Black-owned business have long been a staple in the Black community providing jobs,economic security and somewhere for us to go and feel seen and safe,” Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors said in a statement. “In these uncertain times, we need these places more than ever.”

It’s easy to add a business, you just have to be the business owner to add it. Hey, this oughta make it a lot easier for customers discern where their money is best spent in the borough on those last-minute holiday gifts.

[h/t Mashable]