#ShopBLCK

Black-owned businesses make up only 3% of all U.S. companies classified by race, according to Pew Research. J.O. Malone is working to change that. He evolved BLCK Market from a pop-up business to a brick-and-mortar location exclusively selling products from black-owned vendors.

Malone founded the business before the COVID-19 pandemic, holding two events a month to bring other small business owners and shoppers together. The business went fully online during the pandemic. Malone opened the BLCK Market storefront in Pearland Town Center in September 2021. PRISM produced the marketing renderings.

Shopping events are back to being a big part of the BLCK Market experience. For the fourth year, BLCK Market participated in the Black History Month celebration hosted by Houston First Corporation at Avenida Houston. Malone brought in 50 black-owned businesses this past Saturday. Every entrepreneur has a unique origin story. For one vendor who participated in the event, it is her son, who died by suicide. From this struggle, GO HIGH apparel was born. The name stands for Growth Opportunities Happen In God’s Hands. GO HIGH encourages black self-empowerment, growth, knowledge, love, self-care, and generational wealth.