Banners Promote Local Merchants

One hundred black-owned businesses in the Crenshaw district and Inglewood have started displaying banners to encourage residents to spend their dollars near home.

The signs read “Support the Businesses in Our Community” and are part of the efforts of Recycling Black Dollars, an Inglewood nonprofit group.

“It’s designed to say . . . that there are a lot of goods and services here that are as healthy and well-run as any other place in the city,” said Carlton Jenkins, president and chief executive officer of Founders National Bank, a chief sponsor of the banner campaign.

Rick Perkins, vice president of marketing and advertising of Recycling Black Dollars, added that the banner program also serves as affordable advertising for small businesses. Each participating business paid $250 for a banner inscribed with its name that will be hung on a light pole near the store for 90 days and then be given to the business, Perkins said.