Gatekeeping Black Business: The Fear of Being Left Behind vs. The Power of Expansion

There’s a deep-rooted tension when it comes to Black-owned businesses expanding beyond the community. It’s not just about business—it’s about history, survival, and the fear of being excluded from something created with us in mind. When a Black-owned brand gains mainstream success, it often triggers a split reaction: excitement for its growth but also concern that it will no longer be “for us.”

This fear isn’t irrational—it comes from real experiences. Black consumers have watched trends, spaces, and industries be built on their culture only to be priced out, erased, or overlooked once those businesses gain traction with a broader audience. From fashion to music to beauty, there’s a pattern: Black creativity sparks innovation, and then suddenly, Black consumers are fighting to keep a seat at the table they helped set.

But while the fear is valid, gatekeeping is not the solution. In reality, limiting a business to only serve one demographic doesn’t protect it—it weakens it.

The Fear Behind Gatekeeping

The fear that Black businesses will expand and ultimately leave their own people behind is rooted in painful history, not paranoia. Time and time again, when Black people have built wealth, infrastructure, and thriving communities, those very successes have been met with destruction. The most well-known example is Black Wall Street, the Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma, where Black entrepreneurs built a flourishing economy in the early 20th century. Black doctors, lawyers, real estate developers, and business owners turned the area into a model of Black prosperity—until it was violently erased in 1921. The Tulsa Race Massacre saw white mobs, fueled by jealousy and racism, burn down homes, businesses, and livelihoods, killing hundreds and leaving thousands homeless.

That wasn’t an isolated incident. Throughout history, whenever Black people mobilized economically, white counterparts often responded with aggression, exclusion, or systemic barriers designed to break that progress. The Rosewood Massacre of 1923 saw a thriving Black community in Florida reduced to ashes after a white mob attacked over false accusations. In Wilmington, North Carolina, in 1898, Black politicians and business leaders were violently overthrown in a white supremacist coup, disrupting a flourishing Black economic and political structure. Even in the mid-20th century, urban renewal projects deliberately displaced Black communities under the guise of development, pushing out Black-owned businesses and homeowners to make way for highways and gentrification.

This history makes it easy to see why Black people have a deep fear of being locked out of their own success. The pattern has been painfully familiar: build something, watch it flourish, then see it either stolen, destroyed, or made inaccessible to the very people who created it. That kind of trauma doesn’t just disappear—it lingers, shaping how Black consumers interact with Black businesses today.

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The Truth About Business Growth

When we go to a restaurant, we don’t expect to be served because we’re Black—we expect to be served because we’re paying customers. Business runs on that principle. It’s not about making products for one group and shutting out others; it’s about creating something valuable and making it available to all who want to buy it.

Luxury brands don’t just market to the wealthy, but they also don’t exclude them. High-end restaurants don’t serve only locals, but they don’t ignore them either. Business is about accessibility, not restriction. The most successful Black-owned brands—whether it’s Fenty Beauty, Telfar, or The Lip Bar—understand that balance. They create products with Black consumers in mind but sell them to everyone. And that’s why they thrive.

When a Black business expands, it doesn’t mean it’s abandoning its community—it means it’s growing its impact. More revenue means better resources, stronger infrastructure, and a lasting legacy. It means that instead of struggling to keep the doors open, these businesses can scale, employ more Black workers, and reinvest in the communities that first supported them.

Modern Success: Fenty Beauty’s Inclusive Model

A prime example of this inclusive business model is Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty. Launched in 2017, Fenty Beauty revolutionized the cosmetics industry by introducing 40 shades of foundation, specifically addressing the needs of individuals with deeper skin tones who had long been neglected by mainstream beauty brands. Rihanna’s vision was clear: create a brand that caters to everyone without excluding the Black community. This approach not only filled a significant market gap but also set a new standard for inclusivity in the industry. The success was monumental, with Fenty Beauty reportedly generating $72 million in earned media value within its first month. By embracing inclusivity, Fenty Beauty became a billion-dollar brand, proving that serving a diverse audience can lead to unparalleled success without compromising the brand’s identity or core values.

The Shift From Protection to Power

Black businesses don’t need gatekeeping to thrive; they need support, trust, and space to grow. The goal shouldn’t be to keep something exclusive to Black consumers but to ensure that Black consumers always have access—while allowing the brand to serve a global market.

Instead of fearing exclusion, we should be empowering Black businesses to take up more space—on billboards, in global markets, on the shelves of every major retailer. The true win isn’t keeping something just for us. The win is making sure something made for us is valuable enough that the world wants it too.