Recent events have not only forced the world to reckon with the systemic and structural racism that impacts the Black community, but have also inspired Local Guides like you to take action to make meaningful change in your communities.
Local Guides have always been champions of inclusivity and we’re inspired by the actions we’ve seen you take recently to support the Black community. We’ve seen many posts right here on Connect discussing ways to support the Black community including meet-ups focused on what Local Guides can do to combat racism and conversations on how to make the map more inclusive through your contributions.
Verified merchants based in the United States can now opt-in to show that they are a Black-owned business on their Business Profiles to help people find and support their businesses. Upon opting-in, the new attribute will appear on merchants’ profiles on Google Maps and Search, helping them stand out to customers.
Here’s how you can show your support:
If you’re a Black business owner in the U.S., visit the Help Center to learn how to add the attribute to your Business Profile.
Tell the Black-owned businesses you know about this new feature.
Help Black-owned businesses in your community by adding recent photos, fresh reviews, and ensuring their information is up to date.
How are you supporting the Black-owned businesses in your community? Let us know in the comments below.
This is really incredible. Recently in my city, people have been taking questions like this to our local FB group pages but now this information will really help our local community know just by looking on Google! Such a really amazing idea.
@izzyp223 thanks for the information. Really good to be able to highlight and make known businesses owned by Black business owners, so folks like ourselves who try our best to support them know where to find them. A small step in trying to make the world a fair place that all can be treated equally regardless of race, skin color or creed.
And a long journey ahead still, and as always,we start with a small step.
@izzyp223 There is a great idea behind this feature, but still I’m not sure if this separation is a good action and have a good effect or not. All skin colors are the same and there should be no difference between them.
Hello @izzyp223
I fully agree on activities to make such a future happy. Because Japanese people are also discriminated against. We have experienced extremely disgraceful discrimination as “Asian culture is more outdated than the West.” So I know that our heart hurts strongly.
There is not much racial difference in Japan. However, I always support the vulnerable people of Google Business with detailed reviews. Especially for shops where people with handicap work, edit to increase the number of customers. This is because the handicap is equal to the ordinary people only after many times more effort.
I think that weak people in Google business must be protected.
If black is discriminated against in the real world, we should support the same amount. Then, the display is prioritized so that it is quantitatively equal on the map. I think the system can do anything.
In psychological analysis, the brain needs a great deal of nutrition. Therefore people minimize their thoughts and save. Discrimination is too simple heuristic. Brain malnutrition in a complex world society is the basis of racism.
We’ve previously introduced other business attributes like the LGBTQ-friendly attribute, women-led, and veteran-led attribute. Given the important cultural discourse that’s happening in the U.S. right now and the increase in people specifically looking to support Black-owned businesses, we decided that this was an important step that we should take. We’re looking into how we can add attributes for merchants to choose to self-identify their businesses as members of other communities in the coming months, and we’ll continue to research what other attributes might help users support these communities.
We’re happy to share that there is indeed an “LGBTQ friendly” attribute already avaible on Google Maps. Business owners can choose to add this or the “Transgender Safe Space” attribute to their business listing. Thanks for bringing it up!
You’re right, I found this is a step toward the request of the society which has been shown in search trends. And preparing the option for owners to activate or deactivate the feature is another good point.
Although I really wonder how someone can tell the difference between skin colors or genders, I hope these efforts and steps help to have a better society
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community.