Consumers are using apps and websites to learn more about Black-owned businesses.
Many view the 1921 Black Wall Street Massacre in Tulsa, Okla., as one of the most tragic events in American history.
But before the gut-wrenching pain, which resulted in countless deaths and the destruction of many Black-owned businesses and properties, there existed a self-contained community that often surpassed the success of their White counterparts.
Many influential Black Americans have sought to recreate the Black Wall Street movement, from Boston Celtics star guard Jaylen Brown to music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs.
But has Black Wall Street already risen from the ashes like a phoenix via apps and websites?
Possibly.
The real question might be, will it suffer a similar fate to the actual Black Wall Street community in Oklahoma in the early 20th century?
Instead of physically destroying the virtual Black Wall Street, will enemies attempt to destroy it financially or via technology?
Miiriya is a website and app designed to support Black-owned businesses and provide them with a platform to sell their products.
Think Amazon and Etsy, but for Black-owned entrepreneurs and creators.
On the company website, Miiriya founder Lamine Loco wrote, “My goal for the site in the community is to run this website in a socialistic way, like Wikipedia and PBS. There are absolutely no fees for vendors, and all money made from the site will be seeped back into solving different issues in our community. In the future, I plan to have optional donations where the public and vendors can participate, and this website will be used to fund issues we always have to beg to be solved. I plan to put things like community fridges in front of businesses and houses, where people who are hungry in the community can just open them and not have to go without food.”
During a period when many Black Americans are boycotting companies like Amazon over their stance on diversity, equity, and inclusion, Miiriya could potentially benefit from the volatile racial and political atmosphere.
Miiriya currently has north of 155,000 followers on Instagram.
Many Black community leaders have frequently lamented the racism and discrimination that Black consumers and entrepreneurs encounter when interacting with non-Black-owned companies, despite the Black community’s purchasing power.
As a result, the call to only support Black-owned businesses, if possible, is often the means of protest.
In 2019, the website Because of Them We Can profiled Shantrelle P. Lewis and her husband Tony Oluwatoyin Lawson, who started the SHOPPE BLACK directory that features Black-owned businesses like nail salons, farms and gardens.
“We all know the importance and value of SHOPPING BLACK. We know the statistics of the 1.2 trillion buying power of Black people in the U.S. We also know of the socio-economic devastation that happened to the Black community post-integration. What we’re working on solving for is how to not only create and access wealth that can be passed down generationally but how to design for a future that allows us to thrive as a people globally,” said Lewis.
The company We Buy Black said, “To date, the ‘holy grail’ for Black entrepreneurs has been getting their products on the shelves of a major retailer or featured on Amazon. In either scenario, the competition is fierce and there simply isn’t room for everyone at the table. Further, big box stores and Amazon, frankly, end up taking most of the money. Without distribution, it’s simply not possible to grow and scale a business. Without the ownership of distribution channels, Black entrepreneurs are left to the whimsical mercy of others.”
Despite the success of some Black-owned marketplaces, virtual Black Wall Streets have faced obstacles like other efforts to recreate the Black Wall Street movement.
On Jan. 31, 2023, Stacy Jackson of Black Enterprise reported, “Miiriya, a marketplace where consumers can find everything related to Black-owned businesses all in one place, announced plans to close after receiving a. devastating notice that the extension from their server would be cut.”
In 2023, the owner via Twitter said, “A lot of Multimillionaires, the majority just wanted to purchase the entire thing to turn it into something different with different nonBlack shareholders/for goals that it wasn’t for. I showed them the thousands of Black Businesses Miiriya helped succeed/100s of people it helped.”
The owner added, “I’ve put a lot of work into the code that syncs Black-owned businesses from all major platforms.”
Unlike other platforms, Miiriya users got the service for free with the company relying on tips and donations to pay for the server and monthly expenses.
The company website reads, “Miiriya.com gathers people who believe in ideas, change, and come together as creatives and thinkers to make those ideas come true. It’s a place that aims to provide you with whatever comes to mind.”
On the website, the owner wrote, “My goal is to create convenience for shoppers who want to support Black businesses seamlessly while also creating a surge recirculating the Black dollar.”
When Miiriya users heard about the news, which some labeled as sabotage, they began supporting the app via PayPal and CashApp donations.
The outcry and the financial gifts seemed to work, as it seems that Miiriya is still active in the Google Play Store.
Furthermore, customer concerns like bugs have seemed to have been rectified.
Additionally, users have given the app high marks in the customer ratings.
The Miiryia app had an update as recently as April 2025.
