Late last month in Hollywood, Black celebrities put on the most regal clothing they could find to attend the world premiere of Black Panther. The purple carpet was flooded with people decked in vibrant golds, greens, oranges and seemingly every color under the sun. Natural hairstyles were everywhere, and on point. Everyone's skin was shining and moisturized to the nth degree. Dora Milaje warriors guarded the gates. A band of drummers lined the carpet, heralding the arrival of the cast. Seeing the parade of stars felt like watching kings, queens, lords and ladies arrive for a grand ball. It was, simply, a dream come true.

For all of us normal Black/Brown folks, it's been a long-running joke/unspoken promise that everyone attending the opening night screening of Black Panther will come dressed in a similar fashion to these celebrities, or in the most Afrocentric garb available. We must show up and show out for the culture, because this isn't just a movie, it's an event. This has been the goal for two years, and with the movie now here, you would think that stores would be flooded with all manner of Black Panther merchandise or clothing to celebrate/capitalize on the movie.

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Nope. Nada. Nyet. Nah.

For a movie as buzzed about as Black Panther, this revelation wasn't just a slap in the face, but easily one of the most short-sighted marketing decisions in recent memory. We've seen time and again how, despite a film's quality, superhero movie merchandise of all stripes sells or is made readily available to the masses. Hell, you can buy Avengers sunscreen and Batman No More Tears shampoo at any Target or Walmart with ease. We also know that the buying power of Black people, but specifically Black women/femmes/non-binary folks, has single-handedly shored up the bottom lines of countless industries that would otherwise be permanently in the red. With this in mind, making quality merchandise for the very first superhero movie featuring a predominantly Black cast should be a license to print money.

Hasbro action figures are among the Black Panther merchandise available at major retailers.

And yet, here we are. No signature clothing lines. No ridiculous tie-in tchotchkes at Walgreens. No special edition makeup/hair care lines. Nothing at all but a few toys, some generic t-shirts and some lackluster offerings from Her Universe.

As a retailer, I'm frustrated. As a superhero fan, I'm disappointed. But as a Black woman in America, I'm not even the least bit surprised that things shook out the way they did. We've never been in a position where companies really cared about our opinions on marketing, let alone been the focus of said marketing attempts. They love our money and our culture, but only when it benefits them. So we're stuck with either subpar dregs, or nothing at all unless we make it ourselves.

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Mercifully, Black-owned small businesses are filling a need that corporate chains are fine with overlooking. People are seeking out Black-owned businesses in their communities to buy from in preparation for the movie. We are making GoFundMe campaigns to buy Black children movie tickets to see the film. We made tickets for the movie sell faster than any other Marvel film in history.

Simply put, we are putting in work, and corporations that should be falling all over themselves to cater to us for once are predictably silent. For countless years, we've been told that if we wanted something specifically for us, we should go out and make it ourselves. On the surface, this sounds like decent advice, but the message is clear: "Your money is nice, but not nice enough for us to exert extra energy or resources on you. Take these crumbs and be happy about it."

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We shouldn't have to fight to be seen. We shouldn't have to fight to be acknowledged as a legitimate buying power. I should be able to go to a convenience store and buy Black Panther valentines on a whim with a bottle of water and some Band-Aids. But I can't, and in 2018 with one of the most highly anticipated superhero movies ever hitting theaters, that is simply unacceptable.

If you, like me, are frustrated with the miniscule selection of products available from the big chain stores and would like a better assortment of products to choose from, I’ve compiled a small list of indie retailers that are doing it right:

Black Panther shirt from The Quirk Shop

The premiere of Black Panther is only one night, but it’s an incredibly important one for a multitude of reasons. We shouldn't have to expel extra energy and resources just to be able to enjoy a movie like other genre fans, but unfortunately, that seems to be the case.

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We’ll be alright, though. We’ll make our own purple carpets, be our own celebrities, outfit ourselves in the finest Wakandan attire and waltz into our screenings looking and feeling like the stars we know we are. And when the listicles from Buzzfeed and similar sites start rolling in, saying how shocked they are that big chains ignored us for the umpteenth time, we can laugh and say, “We told you so.”

Directed by Ryan Coogler from a script he wrote with Joe Robert Cole, Black Panther stars Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa, Michael B. Jordan as Erik Killmonger, Lupita Nyong’o as Nakia, Daniel Kaluuya as W’Kabi, Letitia Wright as Shuri, Danai Gurira as Okoye, Angela Bassett as Ramonda, Martin Freeman as Everett K. Ross, Andy Serkis as Ulysses Klaue, Winston Duke as M’Baku and Forest Whitaker as Zuri. The film opens Friday nationwide.