Welcome to Breaking the Blueprint — a blog series that dives into the unique business challenges and opportunities of underrepresented business owners and entrepreneurs. Learn how they’ve grown or scaled their businesses, explored entrepreneurial ventures within their companies, or created side hustles, and how their stories can inspire and inform your own success.
Zippia found that 67.5% of all content creators and influencers are white.
As people look to influencers to find someone like them to take inspiration from, the overwhelming amount of White content creators means that Black consumers likely have a hard time finding what they’re looking for.
In this post, we’ve compiled a list of Black influencers from various industries with authentic perspectives and advice that are worth following.
Black Influencers to Follow on TikTok
1. Marquees Brownlee — Technology Youtuber
Niche: Technology and software
Marquees Brownlee is a tech influencer known for his reviews and instructional videos. He has over 3M views on his YouTube channel, and, as an influencer in a predominantly and overwhelmingly white industry, he is a great representation and inspiration for those looking to make waves in their own communities.
On TikTok, he reviews mobile gadgets, digital tech, and software developments to help his audiences make informed decisions about their purchases.
2. Tabitha Brown — Actress and Influencer
Niche: Food and lifestyle
Tabitha Brown is a food and lifestyle influencer well-known for her calm demeanor and comedic cooking videos. She shares recipes and inspirational content on TikTok and shows audiences what plant-based living looks like. She also gives actionable advice to those looking to follow in her footsteps, helping aspiring entrepreneurs searching for inspiration.
3. Dayna Bolden — Creative Director of Bolden Creative Media
Niche: Lifestyle and entrepreneurship
Dayna Bolden is the Creative Director of Bolden Creative Media and a lifestyle and entrepreneurship influencer and blogger. On TikTok, she shares lifestyle content like morning routines and travel advice, and she’s a worthwhile follow for entrepreneurs looking to learn about maximizing their potential and achieving success.
Black Influencers to Follow on Twitter
4. Shana Minei Spence, MS, RDN, CDN — Registered nutritionist
Niche: Lifestyle and wellness
Shana Minei Spence, a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, created a platform for open discussion on nutrition and wellness to dispel misinformation in the lifestyle and wellness industry.
She shares content on Twitter about finding balance, food education, and recipes she enjoys making, giving her audience access to high-quality and accurate information. She's an excellent inspiration for entrepreneurs looking to learn how to engage with audiences, build a following, and make an impact in their niche.
5. Tiara Willis — Licensed esthetician
Niche: Beauty, skincare, and lifestyle
Tiara Willis, licensed esthetician, has built a community for women of color, who are often left out of beauty, makeup, and skincare discussions.
Willis shares tips, insight, and information with her followers to help them make informed decisions about the products they use and how they relate to people’s skin complexions.
She’s a worthwhile follow for people looking to learn more about skincare and for entrepreneurs looking to learn how to interact with audiences, build community, and share information (she was the first person to sell out a ticketed Twitter Spaces event about content monetization).
Black Influencers to Follow on Instagram
6. Donye Taylor - Director of Creative Initiatives at Fohr
Niche: Marketing and advertising
Donye Taylor is Director of Creative Initiatives at Fohr, an ambassador marketing company, and a marketing and advertising expert that helps brands develop marketing content that stands out and shares their unique brand personality.
On Instagram, she shares marketing tips, tricks, and advice that her followers can learn from and apply to their practices to up their marketing game. Taylor also runs a fun and relevant series where she explains how she would market musical artists' projects. Most recently, she created a sample campaign for rapper Jack Harlow.
7. Shontay Lundy - Creator and Founder of Black Girl Sunscreen
Niche: Entrepreneurship and beauty
Shontay Lundy is the creator and founder of Black Girl Sunscreen (a sunscreen for Black people) and disruptor of an industry that historically underserved and excluded Black people from conversations about sun care and sun safety.
Lundy grew the brand into a million-dollar business that you can find on the shelves of popular stores like Target, Ulta, and CVS Health. On her Instagram, Lundy shares inspirational content for entrepreneurs and founders embarking on their own ventures.
8. John Henry — Founder and CEO of Loop
Niche: Business and finance
John Henry is the founder and CEO of Loop, AI-powered car insurance, and an entrepreneur and influencer in business and finance. He is well recognized for his impact and was named in Forbes 30 under 30, Inc. 30 under 30, and Ebony Power 100.
He shares must-know information on Instagram about the bias and privilege in insurance that excludes people in lower-income communities, which ties directly to his company’s mission of making care insurance more equitable for people of color.
As an influencer, he also shares advice for entrepreneurs on their own ventures that may be facing roadblocks and looking for inspiration.
9. Cinneah E - Project Manager at PayPal, Creator of Flynanced
Niche: Finance, travel, and business
Cinneah E is an influencer in many different niches. Most significantly, she shares tips and actionable advice for people in the workforce, like how to continue to live the lifestyle you want while maintaining a 9-5, how to have an effective job search, and how to continue to develop skill sets through continued education opportunities.
More Black Influencers to Follow
- Jackie Aina — Beauty, fashion, and lifestyle influencer
- Esther Olu — Cosmetic chemist and licensed esthetician
- Jessica Clemons, M.D. — Board-Certified Psychiatrist
- Hunter Harris — Writer
- Barry Jenkins — Filmmaker
- Jillian Anderson — CoFounder of HERide App
- Jahmal Cole - Founder & CEO My Block, My Hood, My City
- Marie Beecham — Activist
- Elaine Welteroth — Author
- Eunique Jones Gibson - CEO and Chief Creative Officer of Culture Brands
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