Real Economic Power: On a stretch of 75th Street long known for its legacy of Black entrepreneurship, a South Side megachurch is urging residents to rethink how and where they spend their money. It’s not the first time.
On April 4, Salem Baptist Church of Chicago is once again co-hosting “Spend in the Black,” a faith-driven economic initiative designed to channel consumer dollars into Black-owned businesses and rebuild what organizers call “the Black dollar.”
Led by senior pastor the Rev. Dr. Charlie E. Dates — who also serves as senior pastor of Progressive Baptist Church — in partnership with local elected officials and community leaders, the effort blends ministry with marketplace, transforming church influence into economic activism.
“This is about resurrecting the Black dollar,” Dates said during one of the marketplace events. “So rather than being in the red, we are spending in the Black.”
A Marketplace Model Rooted in Community
The initiative takes shape most visibly through large-scale vendor marketplaces held on the South Side, where at times more than 100 Black-owned businesses line commercial corridors, offering everything from food and coffee to handmade jewelry and beauty products.
Organizers say the goal is both symbolic and practical: to recreate the economic density of historic Black business districts while equipping a new generation of entrepreneurs.
At one recent event, city leaders estimated that hundreds of thousands of dollars could circulate within a single day across just a few blocks.
“We can literally see half a million to $1 million spent between three blocks,” said Alderman William Hall, who has partnered with the church to expand the initiative.
#SpendInTheBlack #BlackWealth #EconomicEmpowerment
