With the recent Honey Pot Company situation, I really started to wonder.. Are we being to hard on Black Owned Businesses?
Image Courtesy of The Honey Pot Company
After reading comments from various sites including the Honey Pot Company’s own social media, I couldn’t help but to think “we are doing the most right now”. It made me want to look at the comments of other big name brands but then I saw comments that basically said we don’t subscribe to what “they” do. That almost felt like we should ignore other brands and focus our criticism on our own because they are supposed to be for us. And that doesn’t feel helpful as we promote this era of entrepreneurship and Black ownership. That feels like we are telling our people to be perfect or be nothing at all.
we are doing the most right now
While I am completely for brands being held accountable for sticking to their values and promises to customers, can we also show some grace?
From people saying they hope the company crashes and burns to wishing bad on the actual founder Beatrice Dixon, I felt saddened. Yes, customers should be made aware of changes. Yes, transparency should be a priority not just on packaging but in marketing. But also, are we holding ourselves, our businesses and our values to the same standards?
If users on TikTok hadn’t shown that there was a change, would you have noticed that the bottles DO have a different label? If users hadn’t countered the claims of harmful chemicals, would you have done research on what the actual ingredients are? Do you know that all pocketbooks are not in fact made the same? You know what, that’s another discussion I’m not equipped to handle.
Between saying she “sold out” to White owners to accusing a woman who started a business for the well being of Black women to attacking our reproductive systems, y'all were really nasty in the comment section.
The point is, we have to relax a little bit with
the Twitter fingers. We should never be afraid to challenge what feels wrong or harmful but we should also keep that same energy all across the board. Honestly, I’ve seen more Honey Pot outrage than that for a massacre by a white supremacists that took the lives of 10 people.
We have to remember that even the most successful businesses are always going through changes with this rapidly changing world. We also have to stop pretending we’re perfect. We all fall short and if you were blasted on a global scale for it, you’d crawl under a rock. You have a right to feel a way but don't project. It's not cute.
So, I've said all of this to say...give a little more grace. Be a little more receptive to understanding the behind the scenes work that our sisters are putting in. And baby, sweetheart, beloved….
do your own research.
Re-Kenya Roberson is an author, creative consultant, mom, and a bunch of other things that you won't actually remember later. Follow her on Instagram @iamrekenya
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