Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle Keeps “25 Alive”

SEATTLE – In an effort to assist Black-owned businesses, The Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle (Seattle, WA) has partnered with the newspaper the Seattle Medium to bring back the 25 Alive Campaign.

The first initial run of the campaign came when businesses across the country were being shut down temporarily due to the pandemic. These shutdowns hit businesses hard, especially Black-owned businesses that may not have survived without the campaign’s initial run.

The main goal of the 25 Alive Campaign was to have people spend $25 a week at a Black-owned business.

According to a recent study about the impact of the pandemic, only 8.8% of small, African American owned businesses were able to stay profitable, while 56.3% were not profitable at all. Such data drove both the Urban League and the Seattle Medium to re-partner to renew the campaign.

Michelle Merriweather, President and CEO of the Urban League, said, “Not only during the period of time when COVID began were we able to do the campaign but also in the aftermath we wanted to continue our effort to promote and elevate Black business and create the habit. The more you do things the more they become a habit.”

She continued to say, “Our hope for the future is that we are able to continue to highlight new businesses, growing businesses, micro-businesses to ensure that they are seen, heard, and supported. Hopefully, it catches that communities make a conscious effort to put at least $25.00 into Black-owned business, at least once a week, but we also want to make sure they are receiving what they need to be successful.”

“I think our businesses are phenomenal and deserve to be elevated and supported and uplifted by all of us, and have access to capital, to be promoted and be in spaces where they have equal access to foot traffic and business traffic. I think what COVID did do, it put on this front street that our community suffered more when the nation was infected, we were dying, our businesses were dying and COVID put a spotlight on the inequities African Americans have historically endured.”

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