Black businesses are being locked out of COVID-19 relief

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We need a REAL paycheck guarantee for small businesses now. 

[ [link removed] ]Take action

John,

I was raised in a home that was fueled by a Black-owned business. My
father, Everett Robinson, has been a self-employed contractor in East Long
Island for over 45 years. Everyday, I witnessed the long
and non-traditional hours to "land the plane" on the commitments to
clients. Working with him during our summers as kids meant my brother and
I got the chance to see first-hand all the unseen, extra work it takes to
make ends meet as a Black business owner. We saw all the jobs given to
other people not as qualified, all the slights he was asked to accept, and
all the extra hoops he was asked to jump through in order to turn his
vision for his business into a reality. But we also witnessed the pride
and dignity that comes with the ability to work for yourself, and to be
your own boss. We saw all the opportunities -- from making sure our family
had our basic needs met, to putting us through school -- that his
sacrifices made possible for us.

[ [link removed] ]Call on Congress to protect Black-owned businesses. We need a REAL
paycheck guarantee today.

The truth is that Black businesses are not just the places we go to buy
things we need. They are often pillars of the community that create
pathways to independence for our people that would not otherwise exist.
That’s why it’s so crucial that we step up in this moment and fight for
Black entrepreneurs and employees, who are getting the short end of the
stick as they struggle to survive the COVID-19 outbreak. The small
business protections Congress has passed in its CARE Act are not
sufficient. States are already overwhelmed with an unprecedented number of
unemployment benefit applications. The emergency relief package has
significant implementation issues, is being tied up with unnecessary red
tape, and is not getting to Black-owned businesses fast enough to prevent
the massive layoffs and shut downs our communities are facing. Without
legislation from Congress that specifically creates protections for small
Black-owned businesses, there is no telling how many of our people will
continue to lose their livelihoods, their jobs, and their healthcare
during this pandemic.

That’s why we're calling on Congress for a small business emergency relief
plan that:

* Provides funding for small business grants, not loans, that will allow
for Black-owned businesses to retain and rehire their workforce and
reopen after the health crisis. This includes funds for direct payroll
support, as well as covering all costs to maintain the
business.  Making sure that businesses, especially Black owned
businesses, can maintain payroll through direct transfers rather than
loans will ensure these businesses can survive the crisis, get money
into the hands of people more quickly, and relieve the strain on a
patchwork of state unemployment systems. 
* Mandates a full, public accounting by race, gender and geography of
where stimulus money has gone particularly have Black-owned businesses
received federal support. 
* Creates targeted support funds for Black businesses. Any additional
funding for small business support should include a substantial
dedicated fund for supporting minority-owned businesses. 

[ [link removed] ]The time to protect our communities is now. Join us in calling on
Congress to create small business protections for Black owned-businesses
immediately.

In the best of times, Black people have had to overcome this country’s
persistent underinvestment in Black business. According to a 2016 study by
the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy and Research, only 1% of
Black-owned businesses received a bank loan in their first year of
operation, compared to 7% of white businesses. And twice the number of
white business owners use a credit card during their first year of
operation at 30%, as do Black business owners at 15%.^1 Congress’s current
small business relief program assumes that all business owners have equal
access to credit and to banking services. But we know that has never been
the case. From redlining to the refusal to provide loans, Black people in
this country have historically been locked out of entrepreneurship, with
devastating consequences for our communities, both then and now. Today,
Black-owned firms with paid employees generate over $103 billion
annually.^2 By providing a paycheck guarantee to businesses directly,
Congress has the chance to invest in essential industries, to prevent
countless layoffs, to preserve our communities’ access to healthcare, and
to ensure that the places that have served our communities for years are
able to survive this crisis. Join us in calling on Congress to provide
legislation that protects Black businesses today.

[ [link removed] ]Black businesses and their employees are being locked out of the
emergency federal coronavirus relief fund. Tell Congress we need a real
paycheck guarantee today.

There is no community that will be harder hit by the current lack of
protections for small businesses during COVID-19 than the Black business
community. Congress’s current small business relief package prioritizes
corporations, not the people that need relief the most. Unless we see
legislation like Representative Pramila Jayapal’s that provides direct
relief and specific protections for our business community, Black
business-owners will continue to disproportionately carry the financial
burden of this crisis. Black entrepreneurs deserve the same kind of access
to coronavirus relief packages that will keep other businesses in this
nation afloat during this crisis and beyond. It’s time for a direct
legislation that protects Black businesses during the COVID-19 outbreak
from Congress now.

[ [link removed] ]When you protect Black businesses, you protect Black communities. Join
us in demanding protections for the small Black business community from
Congress now.

Until justice is real, 
— Rashad and the rest of the Color Of Change team

References:

 1. “Black and White: Access to Capital among Minority-Owned Startups,”
Stanford Institute for Economic Policy and Research, December 15,
2016,
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 2. “Coronavirus economic relief cannot neglect Black-owned business,” The
Brookings Institute, April 8, 2020,
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