Designations

Draft, last updated October 4, 2026. These criteria and this process are a starting framework and may be revised.

Every listing in the directory carries one of four designations, describing its relationship to Black Long Beach:

Black-owned

Majority-owned (50%+) by one or more Black individuals.

Black-led

Leadership — an executive director, majority of a governing board, or equivalent — is Black, even where ownership is structured differently.

Black-serving

Primarily serves the Black community, regardless of who owns or leads it.

Black-allied

Not Black-owned, led, or serving by the definitions above, but demonstrates active, consistent support of Black Long Beach.

How a designation is set

Whoever submits a listing selects its designation at submission time. A community steward reviews it before it goes live, as part of the normal moderation process.

If you think a designation is wrong

Every listing in the directory has a “Report a concern / claim this listing” link. Use it to tell us what's wrong — a steward will review it, and contested cases are escalated for a closer look before any change is made.