MELANOID EXCHANGE

Melanoid Exchange is an eCommerce and booking app dedicated to connecting entrepreneurs with the world. They guide small minority businesses through eCommerce by providing them an online platform and giving the world a place to shop from them. The company started in February 2019 when Jovante and Darsha decided to participate in the “buy black” movement. There was a boycott of the designer brand Gucci that took place as a result of them using blackface on a sweater. To put things into context, blackface gains it’s origins from “white performers who darkened their skin with polish and cork, put on tattered clothing, and exaggerated their features to look “black.” (cnn.com) This caused an uproar in the African American community and a push to support black businesses.