Madelaine Vikse
Miiriya is a Black-owned app that is an alternative for Amazon (Madelaine Vikse | Northern Star)
A lot of the apps you may have on your phone were most likely created by a white person, but they’re not the only ones who make them. Here are five app recommendations that cover a variety of topics and are Black-owned.
Miiriya
If you’re looking for a way to stop supporting Jeff Bezos and wanting to support Black owners and businesses, then Miiriya is the app for you.
It’s a digital marketplace just like Amazon, but features only Black-owned businesses. It displays multiple categories such as fashion, beauty and decor.
Another feature of Miiriya is that every cent goes to the seller that created the product you’re buying.
Miiriya is free to download and can be found in the App Store and the Google Play Store.
EatOkra
This app will connect you to multiple Black-owned restaurants no matter your location. They offer more than 400,000 restaurants nationwide.
All you have to do is create an account and once you’re in, it will ask you to use your location and find the closest restaurants and eateries near you.
You can also apply certain filters such as drinks, soul food and vegan or vegetarian friendly.
Sarah McLaughlin, a first-year engineering major at NIU, is mostly a user of apps like TikTok or coloring book apps but is open to using EatOkra.
“I’m always looking for local places to eat and I find local to be better than chain restaurants,” McLaughlin said.
EatOkra can be found in both the App Store and Google Play Store.
Swivel Beauty – Stylist Finder
Swivel Beauty is a salon/stylist app that makes it easy for women of color to find hair stylists that can work with their hair types. Whether you have relaxed or natural hair, you can find the perfect stylist for you.
You can find stylists based on hair type, location and service. There’s also a review section that you can preview before booking, or leave one yourself.
Swivel Beauty is currently only available to download on the App Store.
Calendly
Calendly is the app that makes scheduling individual and team meetings a whole lot easier.
According to the Calendly website, Tope Awotona, founder and CEO, founded the scheduling platform in 2013 with the goal of making scheduling meetings less of a hassle and allowing more time to get work done.
Calendly is offered on desktop and through the App Store and Google Play Store. You can sign up for free and start with the basic plan, but other plans that include more features will cost depending on which one.
Shine: Calm Anxiety & Stress
Shine was voted Best of 2020 by the App Store and was founded by two women of color. This app has over 800 meditation options to help with stress and anxiety.
The app offers daily meditations, weekly courses and monthly virtual workshops with multiple topics such as Black mental health, navigating COVID-19 anxiety and more.
Shine is available to download on both the Google Play Store and the App Store.
