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American software giant Salesforce and billionaire mogul Diddy have come together to launch SHOP CIRCULATE, a digital marketplace where consumers can obtain products exclusively made and owned by Black businesses. News of the enterprise came on June 1, 2021, which marked the centennial of one of the most heinous – and until recently, one of the most censored – events in American history: the Tulsa Race Massacre.
Salesforce CEO and Chairperson Marc Benioff released a statement to announce the venture and his partnership with Diddy. “Salesforce is honored to collaborate with Sean Combs and Combs Enterprises to help close the unjust wealth gap that prevents too many Black Americans from achieving economic equality,” he said. “SHOP CIRCULATE will empower us all — as individuals, communities and companies — to support Black-owned businesses, amplify the talent of Black entrepreneurs and move us closer to true equality.”
The intentional decimation of “Black Wall Street,” attempted extermination of Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Black population, and whitewashing of what happened on June 1, 1921, crippled the push for Black economic self-sufficiency and hope for productive race relations at the time. This new enterprise, 100 years later, has the opportunity to be a restorative olive branch as well as possibly mitigate some of the generational impacts of the Black-White wealth gap.
“Building Black wealth starts with investing in Black-owned businesses and giving entrepreneurs access to the consumers needed to build sustainable companies that can thrive,” Diddy said in his statement to the press. “I’m excited to partner with Salesforce to create a platform that will advance our collective pursuit of economic justice.”
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Khadijah Robinson, owner, and founder of the Nile List, was made SHOP CIRCULATE’s Head Of Product, and the new organization absorbed her site in the process. The Georgia peach shared her joy on Instagram and let her followers know when they could start visiting the new online shop.
“Launching Late 2021! This is a huge directory and marketplace for all things Black-Owned,” she wrote on Instagram, “and we are so excited to start this journey in empowering more businesses and continue building wealth in our Black Communities! More to come soon! Remember Every day is a Good day to buy Black❤️.”
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Diddy also expressed his anger about the legacy effects of events like the Tulsa Race Massacre in a series of uploads to IG. “There is no justice without economic justice! We have to circulate the bag!!! ✊🏿” he captioned one post, and he promoted Russell Westbrook’s docuseries Tulsa Burning: The 1921 Race Massacre in another. “This important piece of black history was eradicated from history,” he noted in a third post. “We need to now educate our people & the world about what happened and never let this happen again!”
