Month: August 2020

We have over 80 stories and links including three conservative stories. The big story is the Robert F. Smith tax avoidance story. Last year, Smith agreed to pay off the debts for one class at Morehouse College.

Top Stories

• Billionaire Robert Smith Fighting U.S. Criminal Tax Inquiry (Bloomberg)
• Jay-Z and Pharrell Highlight Importance of Black Ownership In Song ‘Entrepreneur’: ‘For Every One Gucci, Support Two FUBU’s’ (Atlanta Black Star)
• Pharrell Williams – Entrepreneur (Official Video) ft. JAY-Z (You Tube)
• Black millennials less likely to own a home than their grandparents were at same age (MarketWatch)
• Race and Money: The wage gap between Black families and white families in Tampa Bay (WTSP TV) – Pretty good analysis of income from American Community Survey around Tampa.
• ‘A history of broken promises’: Miami remains separate and unequal for Black residents (Miami Herald) – Another good long piece. Quote: “Cubans jumped the line.”
• What it would take to end child poverty in America (Vox) – Ezra Klein interviews Rep. Barbara Lee
• NFL’s first Black team president, Jason Wright, of the Washington Football Team (CBS News)
• How Burrell Advertising got started (NPR) – The story of the famous advertising agency in Chicago
• How Do We Save African American Businesses in our country? Part 3 (Post News Group) – By Albert White
• Meet the Two Sisters Making Wine More Accessible for Black Wine Drinkers (Thrillist)

Coronavirus / PPP / Pandemic

• Rise in jobless claims reflects still-struggling US economy (Philadelphia Tribune)
• ‘A pandemic in a pandemic’: Coronavirus deepens racial gaps in America (Reuters)
• Here are four policies that can help small business as their PPP money runs out (MarketWatch) – We may have an issue with small business owners who are looking to retire and their businesses are worthless.
• ‘Black businesses are hurting now.’ Racism, inequality, COVID-19 shatter Fresno business dreams (Fresno Bee)

Jobs / Workers / Unemployment

• American initial jobless claims rocket above 1 million again (Philadelphia Tribune)
• Weekly initials claims jumped back to 1.1 million (Department of Labor)

Black Business General

• How Do We Save African American Businesses in our country? Part 3 (Post News Group) – By Albert White

Black Business Stories

• Philly’s Black-owned business crisis: Walloped by the pandemic and closing at faster rates (Philadelphia Tribune)
• EBONY and Jet magazines forced into bankruptcy (Chicago Crusader)
• Facebook page gives boost to Sarasota-Manatee Black businesses (Sarasota Herald-Tribune)

Big Business

• Detroit Banks Offer Mentoring, Funds to Minority Communities (Detroit Business)

Inequality / Systemic Racism / Economic Justice

• Race and Money: The wage gap between Black families and white families in Tampa Bay (WTSP TV) – Pretty good analysis of income from American Community Survey around Tampa.
• ‘A history of broken promises’: Miami remains separate and unequal for Black residents (Miami Herald) – Another good long piece. Quote: “Cubans jumped the line.”
• What it would take to end child poverty in America (Vox) – Ezra Klein interviews Rep. Barbara Lee
• Here is the report referenced in the interview: Roadmap to Reducing Child Poverty.
• Here is a summary of the recommendations: How to reduce child poverty. – Really good concrete proposals.
• How does systemic racism affect Black Americans’ access to capital? (Michigan Public Radio)
• To narrow racial and economic disparities, Atlanta Fed chief Raphael Bostic is rethinking what the Fed’s mandate means (Washington Post) – No answers yet, he’s just thinking.
• Op-ed: The Fed has a ‘responsibility’ to help reduce high unemployment in the Black community (CNBC) – We might just have to accept a little inflation in exchange for full employment
• What the story of Soul City, N.C., can teach us about fixing systemic economic racism (MarketPlace.org)
• Cory Booker: Racial wealth gap is the “American wealth gap” (Axios) – Super short
• Black millennials less likely to own a home than their grandparents were at same age (MarketWatch)

Discrimination

• Why are there still so few Black executives in America? (USA Today) – Long read

Affirmative Action

• California Proposition 16 will overturn the ban on Affirmative Action
• Prop. 16 on November Ballot Would Reinstate Affirmative Action in CA (Spectrum Local News) – Best quote: “Because of Prop. 209, Assembly Woman Shirley Weber said California can’t develop special programs for girls in STEM. “
• The Bay Area’s pro teams are all endorsing Prop 16. What is it? (San Jose Mercury News)
• Ending California’s ban on affirmative action could show how far it’s come (Washington Post)

Reparations

• Black pastors announce support for Asheville racial justice efforts (Ashville Mountain Express)
• County Commissioners approve resolution to create Economic Reparations Committee (WKZO Kalamazoo)
• Column: Reparations are about economic stability, not a looted pair of $120 Nikes (Chicago Tribune) – Is looting a form of reparations.
• Repaying the debt owed to Black people requires a democratic and reparative economy (Institute of the Black World)

Universal Basic Income

• Here’s one way to fight poverty. Give poor people $500 a month, says NC councilman (Charlotte Observer)

Diversity / Inclusion (if you can’t get Affirmative Action or Reparations)

• Square Diversity and Inclusion Report (Square)
• Arizona Central Diversity Scorecard (AZ Central)

Rehab / Re-entry

• American Rehab (Reveal) – Detailed account of work practices in rehabilitation industry. Interesting, but a little bit sensationalized.
• City Startup Labs gives returning citizens tools for entrepreneurship (QCity Metro – Charlotte) – Teaching ex-prisoners about computers.

Black Economics

The impact of an uneven economic playing field (Milwaukee Independent)

Straight up Econ

• Monopoly Power Lies Behind Worst Trends in U.S., Fed Study Says (Bloomberg)
• Larry Summers: Who’s Afraid of Budget Deficits? (Larry Summers) – Old but you have to keep an eye on Larry even with his past, anti-woman behavior.
• It’s time to be up front about the 3 neoliberal arguments that help keep racist economic systems in place in the US (Business Insider)
• To narrow racial and economic disparities, Atlanta Fed chief Raphael Bostic is rethinking what the Fed’s mandate means (Washington Post)

Education

• California ballot proposition 16  could boost racial equity among university faculty (CAL Matters)

Other / Interesting

• The Harlem Week panel: Hon. Charles B. Rangel Systemic Racism & Economic Justice Summit (Harlem Week) had no expert nor discussion on Economic Justice.  What’s up with that? Looks like we don’t even have the capacity to discuss economic justice in any detail. Yikes.

Sport / Media / Entertainment

• NFL’s first Black team president, Jason Wright, of the Washington Football Team (CBS News)
• Allen Media Group Buys Hawaii TV Station for $30M (Multi-Channel News)
• Thunder Underscores Its Commitment to Tulsa’s Historic Greenwood District (NBA)
• Jay-Z and Pharrell Highlight Importance of Black Ownership In Song ‘Entrepreneur’: ‘For Every One Gucci, Support Two FUBU’s’ (Atlanta Black Star)
• Pharrell Williams – Entrepreneur (Official Video) ft. JAY-Z (You Tube)
• NBA strikes sponsorship deal with DoorDash, will help black businesses (SportsNaut) – Gotta watch this one.  Doordash is notorious for paying low wages and stealing tips. Probably not someone I would partner with.
• Sixers parent company commits $20 million to fighting systemic racism and championing equality (Philadelphia Inquirer) – Quick peek into how team owners got their money.

Industry Watch: Beer / Wine / Liquor / Alcohol

• Meet the Two Sisters Making Wine More Accessible for Black Wine Drinkers (Thrillist)
• South Africa opens as virus cases fall, allows liquor sales (Philadelphia Tribune)
• Six ways the drinks industry can support racial diversity (The Spirits Business) – Short, click bait.

Real Estate / Housing / Segregation

• Rent control is a disincentive to build affordable housing (CAL Matters)
• How systemic racism flares up in housing and neighborhoods (Michigan Public Radio)
• ‘You Know God Didn’t Forget about You.’ What Tiny Homes Offer the Homeless (The Tyee Canada)
• Housing will test white support for Black lives (Boston Globe)
• Cincinnati passes taxes to support transit (Cincinnati Enquirer)
• How the U.S. Government Promoted Housing Segregation in America’s Cities (US News & World Report)
• New York City may take a decade to recover from coronavirus pandemic, says developer Don Peebles (CNBC)

Finance / Investing

• Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index. Invest in a more equal future. (Bloomberg)
• Commentary: Diversity and inclusion – the role of business in what happens next (Pensions & Investments)
• Fintechs Were Supposed Improve Equality – What Happened? (Forbes)

People / Motivation

• Billionaire Robert Smith Fighting U.S. Criminal Tax Inquiry (Bloomberg)
• GROUPM NAMES KIRK MCDONALD NORTH AMERICA CEO (GroupM PR). WPP Taps AT&T’s Kirk McDonald to Run GroupM in North America (WSJ) – Paywall. Kirk McDonald Will Become North American CEO of GroupM (Variety) – GroupM buys $17.6 billion in ads.  He will lead the North America division which has 6500 employees.  Advertising is probably the single “Whitest” industry in the US.
• How Burrell Advertising got started (NPR) – The story of the famous advertising agency in Chicago
• Ivey names Port Authority picks, including 1st African-American woman (AL.com)
• Black Voices Matter: Tiffany Spencer, President of Black Orlando Tech (Orlando Magazine) – Black Orlando Tech
• Johnny Bailey Explains Why The Key To Black Liberation Is Economic Power (Forbes)

Politics / Government

• Racial Diversity Among Top Staff in Senate Personal Offices (Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies)
• New report finds top Senate staffers are more diverse than in 2015 but still predominantly white (The Hill)
• Democratic convention: $4 trillion infrastructure bank would create 25 million jobs (Peoples World)
• Financial Regulators Address Financial Inclusion, Expansion of Credit, and Protection from Discrimination (JD Supra) – Good, long description of steps financial regulators are taking to address financial discrimination.
• To close the racial wealth gap, we need more Black regulators (MarketWatch) – Important but boring

Career / Industry News / Businesses You Can Start

• Energy Secretary Brouillette’s Remarks to the American Association of Blacks in Energy National Conference (Energy.gov)
• Buffalo Black Achievers CEO talks access and opportunity (Buffalo Business First)
• Profile of Capital Good Fund (a CDFI) (CNBC)
• Pittsburgh development chief Marty LaMar on fostering change for a more inclusive city (Pittsburgh Business Times)
• Black babies are more likely to survive when cared for by Black doctors, study finds (USA Today)

Taxes / Tax Policy

• Column: Task force adviser says consolidation would create property tax relief. Will anyone listen? (Chicago Tribune) – Black suburb is over taxed and consolidation would reduce the burden.  Neighboring towns could care less.
• St. Louis set to vote on raising taxes to expand child care (St. Louis American)

Technology / Apps / Innovation

• Redesigning Federal Funding of Research and Development (Center for American Progress) – Comprehensive and Lisa D. Cook was involved

Travel

• Black Historian Jefferson Talks Bruce’s Beach, Manhattan Beach (Patch)

Conservative / Alternative

• The American Dream is not dead (St. Joseph, MO News-Press)
• The messy truth about income inequality (Washington Post) – Robert J. Samuelson.  Gotta respect his opinion.
• Oprah’s Extraordinary Life Shows America Is No ‘Caste System’ (Foundation for Economic Education)

International

• Africa Remains Untapped Market for Booming Black Businesses in America (Council on Foreign Relations) – Interesting idea.

Old, but good

• The Resegregation of Jefferson County (NY Times)

Top  Stories

• K-Shaped “Recovery” Widens Gulf between Haves and Have-Nots (Non Profit Quaterly)
• Us against them’: Workers cite racial divide on front line of long-term-care fight against COVID-19 (Richmond Times-Dispatch) – Nice, long article of what it’s like to work in the nursing home industry
• There Is No Equality Without Affordable Childcare, but Little Is Being Done About It (Good Housekeeping)
• More than 1 in 3 Black women are on the front lines of the pandemic, but they aren’t even close to equal pay (CNBC)
• Black women with natural hairstyles are less likely to get job interviews (CNN)
• Veteran Reporter DC Livers Launches First Black Woman Owned/Led Sports Network (EUR Web) (Black Sportz Magazines)
• How decades of US welfare policies lifted up the white middle class and largely excluded Black Americans (Business Insider)

Special Topic: Crown and Hops Craft Beer Brewery

• The Crown and Hops website is here.
• The Crowns & Hops Founders Saw No Black People In Taprooms. Here’s What They Are Doing About It (Forbes)
• Marketplace extended interview with the founders of Crown and Hops:  Beny Ashburn and Teo Hunter (Marketplace.org)

Covid-19 / Coronavirus

• The recession is over for the rich, but the working class is far from recovered (Washington Post)
• How housing patterns may partly explain coronavirus’s outsized impact on Black Louisianans (New Orleans Times-Picayune) – Daily life with Covid-10. Cramped quarters and working conditions explain high covid-19 rates.
• Chicago Urban League to provide emergency grants to Black small businesses (Chicago Crusader)
• Local Sacramento Arts organizations crushed by Coronavirus (Sacramento Bee) – Art’s and Entertainment experienced a 35% drop in activity.
• Tenino, Washington is printing wooden money to help residents through the pandemic (CNN).
• Here are the rules from the Tenino, WA. Web-site. – The script is given in $25.00 amounts and only 99 cents in change can be returned. No alcohol, tobacco or cannabis 
• President Trump suspends the payroll tax despite lack of bipartisan support (National Academy of Social Insurance)
• More Signs Coronavirus Exacerbates Economic Inequality. Here’s How. (Barrons) – Another recap.  Jobs, wealth and health cause higher outbreaks in the Black community.

PPP / Coronavirus

• Only 130 Black-Owned Restaurants Received PPP Loans Over $150,000, According To A Report (Delish)
• 785 Michigan restaurants got $150K or more in federal loans. Only 1 listed as Black-owned (Detroit Free Press)
• Only 130 Black owned restaurants received large PPP loans. (Restaurant Business)
• Small business loan program data has little information about race (Center for Public Integrity)
• K-Shaped “Recovery” Widens Gulf between Haves and Have-Nots (Non Profit Quaterly)
• Business leaders work to include minority-owned businesses in economic recovery (Philadelphia Tribune)

Protest

• Minnesota and private partners need to support rebuilding inner-city commercial corridors (Minneapolis Star-Tribune) – Some good reporting coming out from Minneapolis.
• ‘Decolonizing your bookshelf’: students, alumni, and local businesses turn to books — and buying practices — to combat racism (Daily Princetonian) – Buying Black and anti-racist books helps Black bookstores.
• Turn the Page helps readers by from Black bookstores (Turn the Page)
• City of Arlington’s New Unity Council Will Examine Racial and Economic Inequality (Spectrum-San Antonio)
• SoCalGas Launches Restaurant Recovery Program Donating $75,000 to Black-Owned Restaurants in Los Angeles County & Inland Empire (PR Newswire)
• 27 CEOs Launch program to hire 100,000 workers from NYC (CUNY) (NY Jobs Council)
• C.E.O.s Pledge to Hire 100,000 Low-Income and Minority New Yorkers (NY Times)

Jobs / Workers / Unemployment / Economy

• Us against them’: Workers cite racial divide on front line of long-term-care fight against COVID-19 (Richmond Times-Dispatch) – Nice, long article of what it’s like to work in the nursing home industry.
• Opinion: Time to raise the minimum wage (Philadelphia Tribune) – Pennsylvania minimum wage is $7.25, the lowest in the country.  Alabama of the North.
• There Is No Equality Without Affordable Childcare, but Little Is Being Done About It (Good Housekeeping)
• How to Rescue the Economy and Help Black Workers at the Same Time (Politico) – Darrick Hamilton want a paycheck guarantee

Inequality / Racial Inequality

• A Most Dangerous Intersection: Revisiting Race and Class in 2020 (Non Profit Quarterly) – How structural is racial economic inequality?
• American Cities Brace for a Future With Even Greater Inequality (Bloomberg)
• Cities no longer provide opportunity (Bloomberg) – Black males fared the worst – david autor
• NUL’s Annual Report Shows Blacks in Pandemic’s Grip (Washington Informer)
• The National Urban League released it’s “State of Black America” report August 14^th, 2020.  The report data was pre-Covid-19 and showed a small increase toward equality most likely due to the low Black unemployment rate. All of the report commentators discussed the damage Coronavirus is doing to Black communities.
• Some “Essential” Jobs Are Still In The Queue to be Automated (Medium) – We know there is a coming job shortage.
• How racism leaves a lingering economic ‘glass ceiling’ for Fresno’s Black residents (Fresno Bee) – Fresno is about 7% Black, 45% Hispanic, 60% White and 10% Asian. 
• How powerful is financial inclusion? The Freedman’s Bank story suggests bank access is not enough to close the racial wealth gap (Chicago Booth)
• How decades of US welfare policies lifted up the white middle class and largely excluded Black Americans (Business Insider)
• Making billions versus making ends meet: how the pandemic has split the US economy in two (Guardian)

Special Topic: Black Women’s Equal Pay Day

• August 13^th is Black Women’s Equal Pay day. (American Association of University Women) Black women make 62 Cents for every 1.00 dollar White men earn in a year,  so Black women would have to work until August 13^th of the following year to make the same money.  The gap is expected to widen because of Coronavirus uneven impact on the workforce.
• Equal Pay Day for Black women is today, August 13th. There’s a reason for that (CNN)
• Today is Black Women’s Equal Pay Day. Here’s why it matters more than ever (Fast Company)
• How the pandemic will affect Black Women’s Equal Pay Day for years to come (NBC News)
• More than 1 in 3 Black women are on the front lines of the pandemic, but they aren’t even close to equal pay (CNBC)

Black Business Stories

• Lehigh Valley meet-and-greet planned to lift Black-owned businesses and build community (The Allentown PA  Morning Call)
• Black Vendor Group Flourishes on Oakland’s Lake Merritt (Post News Group)
• Black businesses leaders in Nevada discuss challenges to entrepreneurial growth (North Nevada Business Weekly)
• Nancy Twine, Founder of Briogeo on NPR (How I built this – NPR)
• Uplifting Black-owned businesses (St. Louis American)

General Black Business

• Supporting Black Business is Supporting Black People (Bloomberg BusinessWeek)
• How to Find and Support Black-Owned Businesses (Yes Magazine)
• Founder Keenan Beasley On Why Black Business Month Matters (Essence)
• The Fight for the McDonald’s Franchise (Business Insider) – Interesting podcast transcript of Black ownership of McDonalds franchise.
• Sixers’ Ben Simmons and singer John Legend are part of a group backing Philly credit card startup with $18M (Philadelphia Inquirer) – by Joseph N. Distefano.  So this is a great peak into the consumer credit card business.  No one seems to be able to break the Visa / MasterCard high fee, high interest duopoly.  So this is another card with an app and extra features.  We see, if there is some actual  value add by the Black athletes and entertainers or are they just paid endorsers and passive investors.
• Viewpoint: CDFIs look for help to close lending gap (Washington DC Business Journal)
• Black leadership group continuing financial literacy series Saturday (Courier)
• UNLV professor Tiffany Howard, identifies Black entrepreneurship as a way to bridge racial wealth gap (The Nevada Independent)
• UNLV Black Entrepreneurship Study is here.

Big Business

• What Does Real Action Toward Achieving an Equitable Profession Look Like? (Architect)
• Diversity pledges alone won’t change corporate workplaces – here’s what will (The Conversation) – The problem is unconscious bias
• Why Do Boards Have So Few Black Directors? (HBR)
• US Bank to provide USD 1 mln grants to black-led CDFIs (The Paypers)
• Bank Initiatives Promise to Address Inequalities
• Wells Fargo Names Kristy Fercho to Lead Home Lending (NNPA Newswire)
• U.S. companies vow to fight racism but face critics on diversity (Reuters) – old but good summary of actions after George Floyd killing.
• Bristol-Myers Squibb Invests $300 Million to Diversify Trials (The Street)

Special Topic: Crown and Hops Craft Beer Brewery

• The Crown and Hops website is here.
• The Crowns & Hops Founders Saw No Black People In Taprooms. Here’s What They Are Doing About It (Forbes)
• Marketplace extended interview with the founders of Crown and Hops:  Beny Ashburn and Teo Hunter (Marketplace.org)

Discrimination

Black women with natural hairstyles are less likely to get job interviews (CNN)

• SFFD ‘Whites Only’ Policy on Fire Boat (Post News Group NNPA Black Press) – I don’t think I have ever seen a municipal fire department where Whites were not over represented.  We must be paying too much.
• Do You See Me Now? – Founders Reels After Leaked Deposition in Discrimination Case Causes Closures, Resignations (Good Beer Hunting) – Nice long article about discrimination at Founders Brewing Company in Detriot.
• The Time Is Now, Part One — Understanding the Origins of Beer’s Inequity (Good Beer Hunting)

Reparations / Affirmative Action / Diversity and Inclusion

• Six questions about slavery reparations, answered (CNN)
• DOJ: Yale Discriminates Against Asian American and White Applicants In Admissions (NPR) – Looks like an election ploy. The Supreme Court has already ruled that race can be used as a factor in admissions.
• U.S. companies should consider slavery reparations, Vista Equity CEO says (Reuters)
• Nation’s wealthiest Black man says corporate America should consider slavery reparations (ABC News)
• Should Charleston be talking about reparations? (Charleston City Paper)
• Diversity and Inclusion is a growth industry. These experts explained why. (NBC News)

Careers / Business Startups / Motivation / Success / Ideas

• Two Nashville Entrepreneurs want to uplift and encourage Black residents to enter tech industry (WSMV Nashville). Pivot Technology School (PTS)
• Changing the face of architecture (KCRW) – Second article
• Black psychiatrists are few. They’ve never been more needed (Washington Post)
• The Coronavirus Pandemic, Police Brutality Have Black Therapists In High Demand (St. Louis Public Radio)
• Racial equity in clean energy should be a key differentiator for the industry (PV Magazine)

Tech / Innovation / apps

• Equal access to tech can reduce poverty and increase diversity (The Hill)

Sports / Entertainment / Media

• Veteran Reporter DC Livers Launches First Black Woman Owned/Led Sports Network (EUR Web) (Black Sportz Magazines)
• Oprah Winfrey ending print edition of ‘O’ magazine after 20 years (NY Post) – Magazine has more than 2 million subscribers but single copy print sales were just over 200,000.
• Integration came at a cost for Negro Leagues (MLB)
• After NFL Career Ends, Black Players Suffer More Health Woes Than Whites (US News)
• Golf Digest Partners With the African American Golf EXPO and Forum to Continue Efforts to Grow the Game (PR Newswire)

Charity / Philanthropy

• African American Philanthropy: A Culture of Generosity (Stanford Social Innovation Review)

Education

• The Black-White Wealth Gap Will Widen Educational Disparities During the Coronavirus Pandemic (Center for American Progress) – It looks like about 10% of kids do not have access to internet or a smartphone.
• Black college grads end up with $25,000 more in loans than whites. Cancel that debt. (Hechinger Report) – Andre Perry

Conservative / Alternative

• Black salaries matter: Efforts to close the wage gap are working (Washington Times)

Books

• Caste by Isabel Wilkerson. Disparity in Jobs Goes Deeper Than Racism, According to New Book (Bloomberg)
• Advice from Successful Black Lawyers (BlackNews.com)

Travel

• Black travelers, then and now (Travelers Weekly)
• When you’re ready to travel again: Support Black-owned hotels and B&Bs! (NY Amsterdam News)

Straight Up Econ

• Coronavirus spending is test whether deficits really matter (The Conversation)
• Monetary Myth-Busting: An Interview With Stephanie Kelton (Dissent) – Heard her a couple of times. Deficits don’t matter as much as we think. 
• Changing the Federal Reserve mandate could provide a down payment to ending racial inequality (The Conversation) – By William Rodgers, former chief economists at the Labor Department
• Fed monetary policy didn’t cause racial inequality and can’t do much to cure it (Washington Post)
• Economist’s research cited in bill to strengthen federal minority business agency (UC Santa Cruz)
• John Jay’s economics department earns a high score on NY FED’s education inclusion index.  (John Jay College)
• Who is Being Trained in Economics? The Race, Ethnicity, and Gender of Economics Majors at U.S. Colleges and Universities (NY Fed) – They have a nice analysis plus interactive charts that show women and minorities in economics.
• Did You See It? Check Out NewsOne’s Panel On ‘Dismantling the Effects of Economic Racism (NewsOne)

Politics / Government

• Wilson Passes the Commission on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys Act (Congresswoman Frederica Wilson) – Create a 19 member commission under the US Commission on Civil Rights.
• Failed KingSoutel Crossing CRA Benefits Salaries of Office of Economic Development (Florida Star)
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Gives a Green Light to Predatory Payday Lenders (Oakland Post)

Real Estate / Segregation / Redlining

• The Black Lives Next Door (NY Times) – Richard Rothstein writes about solutions to residential segregation. Rothstein wrote “The Color of Law” about how the government helped redline US cities.
• Quicken Loans IPO Could Help Fight California’s Homeownership Crisis (Post News Group) – So this is kind of interesting, is Quicken / Rocket Mortgage make more loans to minorities or less ?  Did not have time to research.
• Callaloo pivot at Manhattan Casino draws debate over protecting interests of Black residents in South St. Petersburg (St. Petersburg Catalyst)
• How Blockbusting and Real Estate Profiteers Cash In on Racial Tension (Dwell)

Taxes / Sausage Making

• Commentary: Black Chamber to Gov. Pritzker: Listen to our tax concerns (Chicago Tribune) – Conservative
• Finance / Investing / Fintech
• Ariel Investments’ John Rogers Shares Insight About Stocks, Racial Relations (Investors Business Daily)

Law / Legal / Justice

• We Need to Throw More Criminal Businesspeople in Jail (Jacobin Magazine) – White collar prosecutions are down 30%.

People

• First Black Student to Receive a Doctorate in Computer Science at the University of Florida (Florida Star)
• Dr. George Brooks, Aquaponics Researcher — ‘Grow it if we can’: Aquaponics pioneer reimagines food in victory gardens, ‘edible landscapes (Arizona Republic)

Opinion

• The best way to boost our economy after the pandemic is to invest in renewable energy programs (Sun Sentinel)

History

• When Polaroid Workers Fought Apartheid (Dissent)
• Paying the price: How Williamsburg’s Black business sector died in the 20th century (WYDaily)
• Madam C J Walker from Library of Congress

We have 76 stories this week related to Black Business or Black Economics. We also have our first editorial, at the bottom, urging a NO vote on California Proposition 22.

Top Stories

• Does $600 a Week Make People Shirk? The Evidence Is No (Bloomberg)
• Coronavirus could widen black wealth gap (Washington Post) – Michelle Singletary
• Business Owners Talk About Triumphs, Challenges As National Black Business Month Begins (CBS Chicago)
• US Gross Domestic Product (GDP) fell 9.5% in the second quarter (Bureau of Economic Analysis) – The US GDP dropped by 9.5% in the second quarter.
• Discussion of Residential Segregation (CNN) – Nice, long well sourced article.
• Meet the 29-Year-Old Woman Running One of the Most Successful Black-Owned Airlines In The World (Essence) – In the Bahamas.
• California’s Black Winemakers Navigate the Barriers of a Lily-White Industry (Mother Jones) — Can’t publish without a Black wine story.

Jobs / Workers / Unemployment

• Black Workers at Risk for ‘Last Hired, First Fired (Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas)
• Governor Raimondo (Rhode Island) announces $45 million, first-of-its-kind workforce development initiative to get people back to work (Operation Hope Press Release) – Using CARES act money, they guarantee a job at the end of training.  Only 7,000 people though.
• Ivanka Trump’s Find Something New career campaign is more hype than help (Washington Post) – by Michelle Singletary.  We ask ourselves everyday: “Are they really that incompetent?”  And every day they answer back with a resounding “Yes, Yes we are.” Read about the latest example.

Coronavirus / COVID-19

• COVID-19 Pandemic Hitting Low-Wage Workers Hardest (Urban Milwaukee)
• US: Covid triggers a boom in debt collection (Verdict / Cards International)
• State Unemployment Officials Unite Against Wage-Replacement Plan (Bloomberg Law)
• Black Neighborhoods Miss Out on Stimulus and Fall Further Behind (Bloomberg)
• Does $600 a Week Make People Shirk? Evidence Is No (Bloomberg)
• Coronavirus could widen black wealth gap (Washington Post) – Michelle Singletary
• Coronavirus causes a new gentrification crisis (Washington Post)
• The pandemic may cause 40 million Americans to lose their homes (CNBC) – Just 26% of African Americans are confident they can continue to pay rent.  Good video on how evictions work.
• WATCH NBC4 Report: Los Angeles Sentinel Closes Office Due to COVID-19 Diagnosis (LA Sentinel)
• The Greater Milwaukee Foundation is promising $30 million for an ‘equitable economic recovery’ from coronavirus (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
• Protecting American Consumers in Crisis (Center for American Progress) – The CFPB should be more active during the Covid-19 crisis.
• Marcio Rubio Stresses the Importance of Capital Access for Minority Small Businesses (Florida Daily)
• The Coronavirus Pandemic Has Intensified Systemic Economic Racism Against Black Americans (New Yorker) – Good summary of where we are. By Steven Greenhouse, ex-labor reporter for NY Times.  Yes, there used to be reporters that covered labor and worker issues. Ha, ha.
• What is a phase III drug (vaccine) trial? (FDA) – It a trial with 300 to 3000 diverse volunteers to check if the drug works in a large population, check for side effects and check for long-term issues.

Protest

• SF Mayor Breed’s Proposed Budget Redirects $120 Million From Police to City’s Black Community (KQED)
• San Francisco: Roadmap To Guide Transformative Change And Investments In African-American Community (SF Patch)

Black Business

• Uncle Bobbie’s opened to build community. Now that community is helping it reopen (Philadelphia Tribune) – Someone broke in and robbed Uncle Bobbie’s in Philadelphia. Twice.
• Business Capital, Knowledge Remains Out Of Reach For Many Minority Entrepreneurs (WBHM – Birmingham Public Radio) – Discusses the general Black business climate and entrepreneurs learning from each other.
• Organizers expand ‘BlackOut Tuesday’ into a monthly event in Carbondale (Southern Illinoisan)
• New Black-owned businesses emerging in NC despite COVID-19: Kenan-Flagler expert (WRAL TechWire)
• Race in America: Diversity in Corporate America (Washington Post) – Long interviews with John Rogers of Ariel Investments. Lots of interesting business details. Rogers seems to be the most prominent Black business leader in the media these days.
• Philadelphia Based Black-led Private Equity Fund TPP Capital Seeks One Billion for Black Health (BusinessWire PR)
• California’s Black Winemakers Navigate the Barriers of a Lily-White Industry (Mother Jones)
• Business Owners Talk About Triumphs, Challenges As National Black Business Month Begins (CBS Chicago)

Hispanic / Latino Business News

• Recession Led by Services Sector Is Particularly Painful for Latino Workers (Wall Street Journal) – A lot of personal service jobs performed by Latino women are hurt by Covid-19.  Cleaning, restaurants and elective surgery services are way down.

Small Business

• Small business funding sources amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. (CreditCards.com) Small-business owners are leaning on credit cards to survive (American Banker) – Thirty (30) percent said they received a PPP loan/grant and 24% said they used credit cards or a business savings account.
• One-Third of New York’s Small Businesses May Be Gone Forever (NY Times)

Big Business

• Super-sized racism: former McDonald’s execs strike back in explosive race discrimination lawsuit (North Dallas Gazette) – Good detailed piece on a discrimination law suit against McDonald’s filed by two Black women former executives.
• Good Quote: “For those that did take a strong position, it was, and is, important that it was for the right reasons and not seen as capitalizing on a sensitive issue,” said Katie Harvey, CEO of KGB Texas, a San Antonio firm.
• Assets no more: Racial justice risks in municipal bonds (Generocity) – This is kind of unique.  They are arguing racialized policing puts municipal bond holders at risk in three way: Over spending on prisons, fines as a revenue source and police misconduct settlements.

California Proposition 22

Please read the news summaries before reading the description and editorial.

• Proposition 22: Employee classification (Politico)
• What is proposition 22? (Ballotpedia)
• What is AB5? (Ballotpedia)
• Fight for Uber and Lyft Drivers to Remain Their Own Bosses Heats Up as November Vote Approaches (Richmond Pulse)

In September 2019, the California Assembly passed assembly bill AB5 which would classify most independent contractors as employees. 

The classification is based on how “independent” the workers actually are: are their working conditions largely determined by the company, do they control when and where they work, and do they have multiple clients.

Large “gig-worker” companies like Uber, Lyft and Doordash opposed the bill beliving it would hurt profits. They said it would also reduce employment and raise prices for services for consumers.

Proposition 22 would overturn CA Assembly Bill 5. AB5 was passed in September 2019 without an exemption for app-based services like Uber, Lyft and DoorDash.  The big companies have pledged $110 million to pass proposition 22 and stop AB5.

Some Black business and contractors have tried to rally support for Prop. 22.  The California State NAACP and the California Black Chamber of Commerce support the measure.

• The National Black Chamber of Commerce also endorsed Proposition 22 (NBCC) – The editorial is called “Ridesharing is the Path to Wealth”

The Sacramento Observer, a Black newspaper, published an independent editorial by the President of CA national Action Network supporting Proposition 22.

• Proposition 22 Protects Independent Contractors (The Sacramento Observer) — The editorial’s author is Dr. Tecoy Porter Sr. who is president of the California State National Action Network.

Sports and Entertainment

• Master P announces autobiographical “No Limit Chronicles” on BET (Your Black World) (The Source)
• Dwayne Johnson, RedBird Capital buying XFL for $15 million (Sports Business Journal)
• ‘Chicago Fire’ actress launches video series to aid Black-owned South and West Side businesses (Chicago Sun-Times)
• Michael B. Jordan And Color of Change Teams Up For #ChangeHollywood Initiative (Chicago Defender)

Straight Up Econ

• US Gross Domestic Product (GDP) fell 9.5% in the second quarter (Bureau of Economic Analysis) – The US GDP dropped by 9.5% in the quarter compared to last quarter (Q1/2020) and 9.5% against (Q2/2019). What’s interesting is that Personal Income is up 7%, Transfers from the government are up 75% and Personal Consumption Expenditures are down 10%.  So with all that money coming in and not being spent: Savings is up 200%. 
• GDP drops by 33% Annualized (CNBC)
• Powell Says Fed Lacks Tools for Fighting Black Employment Gap (Bloomberg)

Interesting People

• Meet the 29-Year-Old Woman Running One of the Most Successful Black-Owned Airlines In The World (Essence) – In the Bahamas.
• 7 African American Designers on How They’re Pushing The Design Industry Forward (Interior Design)

Careers

• Blacks, Latinos feel unwelcome in STEM careers. And that’s a big problem for our economy. (USA Today)
• Arts2Work: New program aims to help people of color find media jobs (Philadelphia Tribune)

In passing

• Herman Cain, Ex-CEO of Godfathers Pizza and Former GOP presidential candidate dies of COVID-19 (AP News)

Inequality / Structural Racism / Positive Action

• ‘Too little, too late’: Why BET’s founder doesn’t like Joe Biden’s plan to tackle inequality (Yahoo Finance)
• Want to fight racism? Break out of your school network (Greensboro News and Record) — “Dream Hoarders,” Richard Reeves
• The Universal Income Grant: An old idea that may have a new impetus in South Africa (Daily Maverick, SA)

Desegregation / Integration / Race / Class

Editor’s Note: We are providing extra coverage of Trump’s Racial appeal to suburbanites. Residential segregation based on race and income is one of fundamental problems in the US. It limits access to jobs, networks, schools, parks and neighborhoods with a higher quality of life. Suburbanites are hoarding opportunity and transferring difficult problems out of their neighborhoods all while paying less proportional taxes.  They are shirking their responsibility for major problems in society by limiting integration and affordable housing in the suburbs.

• Discussion of Residential Segregation (CNN) – Nice, long well sourced article.
• Trump in trouble revisits his tried-and-true — protecting your neighborhood from ‘them’ (RollCall)
• Seeking Suburban Votes, Trump To Repeal Rule Combating Racial Bias In Housing (NPR)
• What Trump’s Campaign against ‘Abolish the Suburbs’ Was Actually About (Bloomberg CityLab)
• Trump’s tweets about saving the “Suburban Lifestyle Dream,” explained (Vox)
• A Brief History of Housing Discrimination in Fullerton and North Orange County (Fullerton Observer) – It would be great if every community research a similar article. It answers the question: “Oh but I didn’t personally benefit”

Real Estate / Gentrification/ Evictions / Urban Planning

• Chicago develops local grocery store to help a neighborhood (Bloomberg CityLab) – Not sure what they are doing at this location when they have a Whole foods five blocks east in Englewood Square at 63^rd and Halsted.
• Freed Slaves Built Dallas’ 10th Street District. Gentrification Threatens To Tear It Down. (Spectrum Local News – Dallas)
• ‘The early warning signs are not pretty’: Eviction Lab researchers study end of federal moratorium (Daily Princetonian)
• Urban planning as a tool of white supremacy – the other lesson from Minneapolis (Minneapolis Post)

Government – Federal / State / Local

• Lack of aid to states could hit Black and women workers hard (marketplace.org)
• A Blueprint for Revamping the Minority Business Development Agency (Center for American Progress)
• City of DeSoto, TX takes aim at increasing minority business opportunities (North Dallas Gazette)
• St. Louis unveils plan to attract more residents, investments in the city (KSDK – St. Louis) – A heavy lift. Includes closing the wage gap between Black and White residents plus adding 35,000 new people to the city.
• Proposed Oakland Tax Hike Concerns City’s Office Sector (BisNow) – This is another tough one. Cities need to raise revenue without driving away businesses. Now with Covid-19.

Politics

• Joe Biden’s plan for economic racial equity (Joe Biden) – We have to use direct quotes because the language is non-specific and word-smithed.  It says “  Collectively, Biden will leverage more than $150 billion in new capital and opportunities for small businesses that have been structurally excluded for generations.”
• Joe Biden’s Racial Economic Equity Plan Would Invest $150 Billion in Minority Businesses (The Black Chronicle)
• Biden proposes Fed focus on closing racial wealth gaps (Yahoo Finance)  — Actually, fairly interesting since fed does not have this role now. Plan actually calls for more reporting of activities by race and income. The Fed will also report what they are doing to close gaps in jobs, wages and wealth.
• Slotkin Secures Funding to Revive Annual Report on Systemic Racism in Michigan (Slotkin.house.gov)

Reparations

• Exclusive: Bob Johnson lays out his solution for wealth inequality (Axios)
• As Redress for Slavery, Americans Oppose Cash Reparations (Gallup) – Sixty seven percent oppose direct cash payments.  Democrats are evenly split on reparations.  The issue was so important to Gallup that Mohamad Younis wrote up the survey results.
• Reparations for slavery: Is Asheville a national model? (ABC News)

Conservative / Alternative

• Five reasons economic inequality remains all-American (NY Daily News)

History

• Polling: Most Americans say the legacy of slavery still affects black people in the U.S. today (Pew Research Center) – Sixty Three Percent (63%) of people in the survey believe slavery has impacted Black people in the US.

Education

• Report finds a drop in Black enrollment at most top public colleges and universities (Hechinger Report)
• Medical Schools Need to Get Better at Addressing Structural Racism (Scientific American)

Science

• Racial disparities in innovation (Nesta UK) – Good report on small numbers of Black scientists and inventors.  References Lisa Cooks paper.
• What is a phase III drug (vaccine) trial? (FDA) – It a trial with 300 to 3000 diverse volunteers to check if the drug works in a large population, check for side effects and check for long-term issues.

Black Economic and Business News Editorial

AB5 is great legislation.  Proposition 22 is raw, naked corporate power.

Black Economic and Business News supports AB5. AB5 is a natural legislative exercise to check corporate power over gig economy workers.  Society has an interested in protecting workers pay, benefits and working conditions.  There needs to be a basic floor of acceptable conditions that define a job and when companies fall below that floor, government must act.

Corporations have long classified some workers are temporary or brought in experts for very specific jobs.  Companies have always rented talent or expertise for things like IT, design, HR or legal.  Then in 1990, Prahalad and Hamel promoted the concept of “Core Competency” and many companies outsourced all non-core activities. Millions of “non-essential” employees lost their jobs.  Worker incomes stagnated. Corporation increased their profits and power. The country has never been the same. 

One consequence of outsourcing was an explosion of part-time, freelance independent contractors called “gig” workers. These workers were employed on an as need basis by companies and were paid piece rates or job rates rather than actual wages. They receive few benefits. They don’t pay or receive unemployment insurance.

But, then along came Uber, Lyft, Doordash, Amazon Delivery, Seamless and Instacart where the business model was based on using huge large numbers of “independent” contractors.  These workers are not really independent because the company controls all of the working conditions. The company decides when and where they work, how they dress, and how they perform the work. The company treats them like employees except when it comes to wages, benefits and taxes.  

During the creation of AB5,   The App-based companies ask for special treatment under the original bill but were unable to come to agreement.  During the negotiations, they threaten to fund proposition to over turn the law so they could force the legislature to back down.  When they could not reach agreement, they put Proposition 22 on the ballot and pledged $110 million to support it.

These same companies have a long record of high fees, low wages and abusive employment practices.  Their Prop. 22 ad campaign uses many of same people (hostages) they have treated poorly in the past. It also threatens job losses like a union busting campaign. What they are really afraid of is CA AB5 setting the standard for the rest of the United States. Treating workers better would affect their profits.

Some argue that AB5 will reduce contractor unemployment or lead to higher consumer prices.  Both effects exist but are tiny compared to the benefits the workers will receive. The employment effects are close to zero: nobody’s meal or package is going to go undelivered. The consumer price effects would be in pennies. But the upside is, AB5 also gives workers higher pay, more benefits, collects unemployment taxes and supports possible future unionization of the workforce.

Companies have used phony “independent contractors” to cheat workers of wages and benefits and the society out of taxes for too long.  In September 2019, the large scale abuse of that classification caused the California Assembly to act.

We cannot support companies whose fundamental business model is to pay employees below minimum wage with no benefits and then skip out on taxes.  The business model leaves the rest of us pay more in taxes and social benefits to help our fellow citizens.

So, for all of the above reasons, The Black Economic and Business News, supports a NO vote on California proposition 22.