Bed-Stuy: Find Black-Owned Businesses Near You for Christmas Shopping

BED-STUY, BROOKLYN — Bed-Stuy thrives because of its black-owned businesses. What better way to do last-minute Christmas shopping than to consult Black Lives Matter's new online database of black-owned businesses around the neighborhood, city, state, and country?

The organization behind the Black Lives Matter movement is partnering with New York ad agency J. Walter Thompson to build and promote an interactive online map of all African American-owned businesses, including restaurants, small boutiques, cafes, barbers, and mom-and-pop stores. They released the beta version of the database this week to the public.

When you type in Bed-Stuy's zip code of 11206, you already get six black-owned businesses: Heavenly Crumbs Bakery at 355 Franklin Ave., Wray's Caribbean and Seafood at 503 Myrtle Ave., Black on Black boutique at 44 Herkimer St., BCakeNY at 702 Washington Ave., and Breukelen Coffee House at 764 Franklin Ave.

If you know of a black-owned business in the area, it's easy to add them and contribute to the interactive database.

"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."

Photo credit: Black Lives Matter Backing Black Business Database