On January 1, 2009, Maggie and John Anderson, a successful African American couple raising two daughters in a Chicago suburb, engaged in a social experiment to reinvest in the Black community and buy from only Black-owned businesses for a year. Throughout that time the Andersons combed Chicago in search of a Black-owned supermarket, dry cleaner, gas station, pharmacy, and clothing store. Our Black Year is the story of what they learned. Maggie examines the commercial exploitation of Black neighborhoods through the lens of her year supporting Black-owned businesses. She discovers that Black businesses lag behind businesses of all other racial and ethnic groups in every measure of success, and argues that the social crises that disproportionately impact Black people and underserved Black neighborhoods could be countered through "conscious consumerism"--Supporting businesses that empower struggling communities. At once a personal journey and an investigation into the causes of a persistent economic suffering, this is a hard-hitting call to action to close a gaping hole in the American economy--one purchase at a time.--From publisher description. An African American family chronicles their year-long commitment to patronizing only black-owned businesses, exposing economic inequality and inspiring a movement.