While reporting on the local impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and 2020 racial and social justice movements, our QCity Metro team saw the need for extended coverage on Black-owned businesses. We dedicated resources specifically to increase our business reporting, still, we wanted to do more.
We saw an opportunity to develop a product that looks at Charlotte’s Black business ecosystem. As a Black-owned media company, we’re offering another source for owners to get in front of the 165,000 people who visit our website each month.
Introducing ‘Black on the Map’ — a living, digital locator that tracks Charlotte-area Black businesses.
Purpose
The goal is to be the most comprehensive, local, living platform that feeds on engagement from Charlotte-area Black business owners and consumers.
Users will have the ability to submit updates about existing locations on the map and tell us about those currently not featured. Owners can submit their business for addition at no charge. Accuracy is important, so our team will investigate every submission before it is added to the map.
Black on the Map data will help us here at QCity Metro develop a database to discover local trends related to Black businesses.
View Black on the Map
Beyond routinely updating area storefronts, in Phase 2, QCity Metro included mobile- and web-based businesses and nonprofit organizations.
Why nonprofits? Similar to for-profit businesses, we want to study local trends in this sector while informing our audience about Black-led organizations.
Bottom line: Black business owners get free promotion for their business on QCity Metro’s new digital map, our readers get access to a tool to easily find local Black businesses and QCity Metro can better report on local Black businesses and trends.