Black Lives Matter launches interactive map to promote black-owned businesses

Organizers want the site to become the largest black businesses database in the country

(Twitter)

Black Lives Matter and ad agency J. Walter Thompson New York are helping shoppers support black-owned businesses with BackingBlackBusiness.com.

The organizations launched a beta version of their nationwide interactive map on Monday where shoppers can search through more than 300 businesses by categories including food, health, entertainment, lifestyle, and more.

"Working in advertising, I believe that the messages we push out have an impact and that we have a responsibility to try and shape culture positively," J. Walter Thompson CEO Lynn Power added in a statement. "I am really glad that our partnership with Black Lives Matter is giving us the opportunity to play a truly active role."

In a statement, Black Lives Matter organizers said they want the website to be the “biggest and most easily accessible black businesses database in the country.”

“Black-owned business have long been a staple in the Black community providing jobs, economic security and a somewhere for us to go and feel seen and safe,” Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors said in a statement. “In these uncertain times, we need these places more than ever.”