Taya Wilkes of Melanin Market
Taya Wilkes, 24-year-old Columbus native and Chicago newbie, is passionate about many things… but there are two that she has found great joy and success in merging: retail, and supporting Black-owned businesses.
In June of this year, Taya founded Melanin Market, a curated shopping resource dedicated to highlighting Black-owned businesses worldwide. She wanted to create a space for consumers in search of supporting the Black community an easy way to browse.
Taya has been working in the retail industry since her tween years of fit modeling for Justice, and she loves to research up-and-coming small businesses. As an e-commerce specialist by trade, she’s (clearly) amazing at it. For her, Melanin Market was the perfect marriage of passion and necessity.
“I wanted to highlight people that look like me. Products that are made for me, by people in my community.”
In this conversation, Taya shares her inspiration for creating Melanin Market, her thoughts on how businesses could be doing more to support the Black Lives Matter movement, and what it means to be a true ally to the Black community.
______________________________
Q: What was your inspiration behind creating Melanin Market?
A: I’ve been working in retail since I was 16 years old, and I’m very passionate about the industry. As I grew older, I became more interested in smaller independent businesses, and loved to spend time researching them and looking for more to support. I wanted to find products that were made for me, by people that look like me.
Q: Who do you feature on MM? Is there any criteria beyond being Black-owned?
A: Most of the businesses I highlight are womxn-owned, but I don’t have any specific criteria that I look for - any brand that I want to support gets showcased. A lot of these brands are natural and vegan, simply because that’s what I’m personally interested in. I also love to highlight philanthropic brands that give back to their community.
Q: Tell me about one of your favorite MM feature. Why is their business unique?
A: It’s so hard to choose, but I think that one of my most favorite features has been Hanahana Beauty. They’re a consciously clean skincare and wellness brand from Ghana, whose mission is to disrupt the global beauty industry. Their shea butter is harvested by women working in Ghana, who then ships it to Founder Abena Boamah all the way in Chicago. Abena pays the women working in these cooperatives however much they desire to be paid, in an effort to inspire them to know their worth. Hanahana also offers an amazing inclusive healthcare benefit plan. (To learn more about Hanahana’s expoential social impact on the cooperatives they work with, click here.)
Q: When you decide you want to feature a certain brand on your page, what is your process like from that point forward?
A: I usually send a message to the founder or owner letting them know that I plan to post about their business, and ask them if they’re okay with being featured. I then screenshot an image from their page, schedule the post, and tag them!
Q: What do you want people to know about Melanin Market?
A: I hope that people recognize the importance of buying Black, shopping small, and keeping money in the Black community. Melanin Market is a great resource for literally anyone hoping to purchase a new product - I highlight businesses from all sorts of industries.
. . .
Q: As we all know, almost every brand is coming out with a BLM-related statement, and a lot of it feels like ‘performative allyship.’ What are your thoughts on this? Do you think businesses are only addressing the movement for publicity or assurance?
A: Honestly, yes. These brands release statements that read “we stand with you!” but if you scroll back, there’s no Black representation at all; no Black person that they ‘stood in solidarity’ with prior to that announcement. I think it’s great that businesses are now starting to acknowledge the Black community, by paying them appropriately, and posting about them, and showing them in their clothes… but if it’s not out of a pure and authentic intention, then just save it. I do feel that a lot of these brands are doing it for ‘good publicity’, which is sad.
Q: What can these businesses do to improve?
A: Showing where they messed up, and what they’re doing to improve, so people can hold them accountable. That’s so much more important than a PR announcement. A great place to start of course be to hire more Black people, or participating in Aurora James’s 15% Pledge.
“Black people in the U.S. make up nearly 15% of the population. So, we are calling on major retailers to commit a minimum of 15% of their shelf to Black-owned businesses. The Pledge is an invitation to retailers to give their valued community what they are asking for — variation of product and economic equality. It requires a comprehensive re-evaluation of ‘business as usual’ and is an opportunity to create sustainable solutions over a multi-year horizon. It is an opportunity to grow and learn together.”
— © 2020 Fifteen Percent Pledge.
Another area these businesses can improve is in their Influencer Marketing. There is a huge disparity between the amount of money Black influencers are paid compared to white influencers - with the same follower count! Even as a viewer, it is very apparent that Black influencers don’t receive as many PR packages or invitations to brand trips… even with, like I said, the same follower count. Why not send your product to a diverse group of people, so all of their fan bases have the opportunity to see it?
Q: Speaking of influencers… they’ve been pretty vocal throughout the last few months about BLM, too. Do you think they’re being genuine?
A: Yes and no. I feel that some of their statements may have been genuine, but then I see them working with brands that aren’t inclusive at all. To me, it doesn’t make much sense to publicly state that you support the Black community, then accept work from companies you know absolutely do not support the Black community. One Black-owned business haul isn’t going to fix everything.
Q: How do you think they can do better?
A: I’d challenge a lot of YouTubers to shop outside of the ‘popular’ and ‘bigger’ brands that everyone knows about. Shopping small makes a huge difference, and I’d love to see these influencers promote a more diverse group of brands owned by a diverse group of people. I’d also love to see these influencers use their platforms to call noninclusive brands out!
Q: Is supporting Black-owned businesses enough?
A: If you consider yourself a friend of any Black or brown person, you need to use your voice.
______________________________
Because The Nothing, Just Everything Project is dedicated to showcasing real people, we thought it would be fun to end all of our interviews with more lighthearted, human-centered questions. Taya was gracious enough to humor me as I asked her a couple of borderline cheesy questions in an effort to bring an element of her real life into the mix.
Q: If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?
A: Anything John Legend.
Q: What’s your gas station order?
A: Hot Cheetos with a slushie, or Chex mix muddy buddies with a water.
Q: You (finally) have a day off with no responsibilities at all. How are you spending it?
A: My ideal day is definitely slow. I'd still wake up early, but I wouldn’t get out of bed. I’d chill and scroll through TikTok and YouTube, shower, get ready, go out to brunch with my friends (for the mimosas, obviously), pop into the mall… and end the day by making myself a nice dinner!
Author’s Note:
As soon as I conceptualized the idea of NJE, Taya came to my mind as the perfect person to kick off Conversations with. I loved her mission behind Melanin Market, and I was confident that I wasn’t the only one curious about her.
When she agreed to let me interview her, I was so happy to get started on one of the parts of NJE that I’d been most looking forward to. I couldn’t wait to learn more about her, and help her tell her story to the world. Now, weeks after the interview, I’m even happier - because I get to call Taya a friend.
