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SPEAKER: And now two hair extensions and wigs for Black women. They are a big business in Minnesota and nationally. The industry is dominated by KoreaN-owned wholesalers and retailers, not African-Americans, and that has fueled tensions in other parts of the country. But as Emma Sarpong reports now, some Twin Cities Black women are finding ways to break into the industry.

KAREN COFFEY: Hi, how are you?

EMMA SARPONG: Karen Coffey is welcoming customer Zabrina Watkins into her new store, Bella Beauty and Hair, in Brooklyn Park. Watkins says this is a new experience for her.

ZABRINA WATKINS: This is my first time actually ever buying hair. I never really thought about buying it before, I guess, until I saw that this shop was open.

EMMA SARPONG: Watkins drove the half hour across town from Woodbury, passing many other similar stores because Bella has the one thing many don't-- an owner who like her, is black.

ZABRINA WATKINS: It's nice to see a Black woman doing her thing having a business because it's rare.

EMMA SARPONG: Coffey is part of a national growing trend of African-American women launching hair and beauty supply stores that cater to Black women.

KAREN COFFEY: They want to know who owns it because they see me behind the counter. So they're like, who owns it? And I'm like, I do. they're like, really? So then they get excited.

EMMA SARPONG: Customers are surprised because by all accounts, Korean and Korean-American-owned businesses dominate both the retail and wholesale markets, and that has fueled racial tensions at two levels. Complaints about the experience in Korean owned stores are common, that they're not welcoming, or shopkeepers shadow their customers, suspicious of theft. That issue flared last month in North Carolina when a Korean store owner accused a Black shopper of theft and was caught on video kicking, tackling, and putting her in a choke hold.

[SCREAMING]

There were no arrests and the storekeeper apologized. But the incident spawned protests and boycotts. They erupted amid long-simmering tensions and complaints that stores don't often hire from the African-American communities where they're located, and wholesalers shut out store owners who are Black.

LORI THARPS: It's been one of those sore spots in the community.

EMMA SARPONG: Temple University Journalism Professor Lori Tharps co-wrote Hair Story, Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in America.

LORI THARPS: We spend all of this money on our hair, but we're not reaping any of the benefits.

EMMA SARPONG: Karen Coffey of Bella Beauty says some major Korean distributors have denied her request for products or don't even respond.

KAREN COFFEY: They're not used to dealing with us. So you got to keep calling and keep calling and keep calling. But it's because they won't call you back or they act like, oh I have to have my manager call you or, he's on vacation or he's out of the country right now, and I don't know when he'll be back.

EMMA SARPONG: Coffey feels outgunned by several larger Korean owned stores nearby. Wholesalers supply them with popular products they won't sell her, including top selling brands from a company called Shake and Go. That firm says selecting retailers is based on economics alone, not favoritism. And it turns out Shake and Go won't sell to some Korean owned stores either.

SAM WANG: I don't know anyone who's going to give me shake and go here.

EMMA SARPONG: Sam Wang is vice president of the National Federation of Beauty Suppliers, a trade group for Korean-owned businesses. He says being Korean doesn't mean Korean-owned wholesalers will automatically supply you with products. But he says it is easier for Koreans to get into the business because there's such a broad network of support from other Koreans.

SAM WANG: You could get some help, help and knowledge, and operational things. There's a lot of people could lean on because there are so many people involved in the industry. It's easier because of that.

EMMA SARPONG: Author Lori Tharps says Korean owners dominate the industry because they started selling affordable wigs in Black neighborhoods during the '60s.

LORI THARPS: There was no takeover of this market. It was a market that was organically grown from wigs to other hair products, and then it grew into what it is today.

JOYCE IYAWE: This is not about black, white, green. No. It's called business.

EMMA SARPONG: Joyce Iyawe of Columbia Heights has built a nationwide clientele by going around the Korean wholesalers. She buys components directly from Chinese and Indian suppliers, then she sews them into custom wigs and hair weaves herself. She says Black entrepreneurs need to join forces.

JOYCE IYAWE: You are stronger in numbers when Black women learn to work together. That's really what the Koreans have done, or the Asian market has done that none of us have been able to do.

EMMA SARPONG: Bella Beauty Owner Karen Coffey hasn't been totally stiffed by Korean owned wholesalers. One supplied her with a hot seller. But it wasn't a popular style that persuaded Zabrina Watkins to buy a wig for the first time. It was the reassurance of knowing she'd get knowledgeable help.

ZABRINA WATKINS: I figured Karen or somebody else would be here to help me figure this out. So that's pretty much what it was.

EMMA SARPONG: Watkins clearly enjoys the attentive customer service.

ZABRINA WATKINS: I like that even better.

EMMA SARPONG: And she leaves with her first wig after paying $35.

ZABRINA WATKINS: It's different. It's sassy.

EMMA SARPONG: Emma Sarpong, Minnesota Public Radio News.