Last year, the Nielsen company declared African-American consumers “more relevant than ever.” Black people in the United States have an estimated buying power of $1 trillion dollars, and that figure is expected to grow to $1.3 trillion by 2017.

Currently 43 million strong, African-American consumers have unique behaviors from the total market. For example, they’re more aggressive consumers of media and they shop more frequently. Blacks watch more television (37%), make more shopping trips (eight), purchase more ethnic beauty and grooming products (nine times more), read more financial magazines (28%) and spend more than twice the time at personal hosted websites than any other group.

Filmmakers Ryan Coogler, Shaka King, Terence Nance, alongside a host of celebrities, artists, activists, and other public figures are urging African-Americans to vote with their wallet in order to initiate change in a system that values possessions over people.

Read more and spread the word using the hashtag #BlackoutFriday. Support black-owned shops, use The Database.