Standing Strong: When Discrimination Tries to Silence Small Businesses
Every Saturday for two years, we’ve shown up at our local farmers market—setting up early, greeting families, and sharing clean, plant-based hair care with a community that deserves better options. What started as a simple booth became a space of connection. Strangers became customers. Customers became friends. Many of you even drove in from other cities after finding us on Instagram, just to say hello and support our Black-owned small business.
Lately, that same space that once felt like community became something else—hostile, unfair, and humiliating.
What Happened
One Saturday morning, after we’d set up and begun our workday, we were asked to pick up trash that wasn’t ours—trash that wasn’t behind our booth, wasn’t near our table, and was covered with ants. Out of basic hygiene and safety concerns (especially because our work involves direct contact with customers and products), we politely declined.
From there, things escalated. Instead of a professional conversation, we were publicly targeted, called “rude,” and told—“I swear to God you’re a racist”—in front of customers, fellow vendors, and even during a livestream.
Imagine standing in front of your own business—your name, your brand, your livelihood—and being labeled something that damaging and that false, in public view. Our image wasn’t just shaken; it was deliberately tarnished by a false narrative seemingly aimed at removing us precisely because we’ve been successful.
Why It Matters
When someone defames your character and disrespects your business in public, it’s not just words—it’s economic harm. It’s lost income. It’s reputation damage. It’s the unraveling of trust that small businesses fight to build day after day.
We follow the rules, meet the requirements, show up rain or shine, and represent our brand with pride. No one should be bullied, intimidated, or publicly humiliated for protecting basic health and safety—especially while serving a community that otherwise lacks access to what we provide.
Our Stand
We’ve worked for years to build Tsunami Hair into more than a product line—it’s a movement rooted in self-care, community, and representation. Being treated unfairly, misrepresented, and discriminated against in public doesn’t just affect us; it sends a chilling message to every small Black-owned business trying to exist in spaces that weren’t built for them.
We will continue to stand up for ourselves, defend our name, and pursue every appropriate avenue to protect our brand, our team, and our customers. Integrity isn’t a slogan for us—it’s the standard.
To Our Supporters
We’ve received countless messages, comments, and DMs from people who witnessed or heard about what happened. Your support means everything. We will keep serving our customers, keep showing up in new spaces, and keep proving that integrity, quality, and resilience always win.
About the Evidence
We do have video evidence documenting this incident. On the advice of counsel—and to protect ongoing processes—we are not releasing the full footage at this time. We’re preserving everything and handling this responsibly. When there are results to share, we will publish a Part 2 update with more detail.
– The Tsunami Hair Team