Black Business Reckoning: The Fight to Build, Reclaim, and Keep What’s Ours
There’s a reckoning happening in Black business right now — not the kind whispered in conference rooms, but the kind that’s loud, proud, and determined. A wave of Black women are reminding the world that ownership is the endgame. And lately, they’ve been showing us exactly how to get it back — and keep it.
Pinky Cole — Flipping the Script on Slutty Vegan
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make Pinky Cole’s Slutty Vegan is more than a burger joint. It’s a cultural movement, a safe space, and a paycheck for countless young Black employees in Atlanta. She built it from a single takeout spot into a nationally known brand.
But growth often means outside investors, and outside investors can mean giving up a piece of control. Pinky just flipped that script — buying her business back. That’s not just a financial move; it’s a reclaiming of creative control, the right to decide the future without a boardroom telling her what “sells.”
She’s not just cooking food — she’s serving up an example for every entrepreneur who’s been told they have to give away the crown to scale their kingdom.
Lisa Price — Carol’s Daughter Comes Home
When Lisa Price started Carol’s Daughter in her Brooklyn kitchen in the early ‘90s, she was mixing oils, herbs, and love into every bottle. She was also building a future for natural Black hair care in a market that barely acknowledged it.
Corporate acquisition gave the brand distribution muscle — but sometimes, in the process, the founder’s voice gets softened. Now, Lisa has brought Carol’s Daughter back under her ownership. This is more than a homecoming. It’s a reminder that when you control the product, you control the story. And when you control the story, you control the legacy.
Fawn Weaver — Holding the Line at Uncle Nearest
Fawn Weaver isn’t just running a whiskey brand — she’s protecting history. Uncle Nearest honors Nearest Green, the first known African American master distiller, whose work shaped Tennessee whiskey’s legacy.
Right now, she’s in a high-stakes battle to keep that brand from falling into the wrong hands. This isn’t just about bottles on shelves — it’s about guarding a cultural treasure, preserving jobs, and making sure that history isn’t rewritten or repackaged without its rightful credit.
Why These Stories Matter
Buying back your business isn’t a luxury. It’s a fight — a fight for creative control, for generational wealth, for the right to decide your own narrative. For Black founders, especially Black women, ownership is a shield against erasure. It’s the difference between having your name on the door and being a footnote in someone else’s story.
Pinky, Lisa, and Fawn aren’t just entrepreneurs. They’re legacy keepers. They’re cultural guardians. They’re proof that you can win the game and still own the field.
And here’s the quiet part said loud: we need more of this. More buybacks. More protection of what we’ve built. More tables that we not only sit at, but own.