Black Business and Economics Stories for November 16th to 22nd 2020

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Election coverage seems to be limiting the number of Black business and economic stories.

Top Stories

  • Realtors apologize for role in housing racial discrimination (Bloomberg) – Oh, really.  They did all that damage and want to escape with a simple apology.  This is a perfect example of why we need reparations. We also need active enforcement of existing regulations, transparent data gathering and reporting and a proactive testing program.  This whole industry has put profits before morals and looked the other way on racist behavior.
  • White and Black Communities In Maryland Experience A 20% Difference In Loans From CARES Act (CBS Baltimore). Black communities are receiving about 21.5 percent less money in loans.
  • For families of color, the pandemic brings an outsized financial hit (NBC News)
  • African-Americans suffer as public-sector jobs are cut (Financial Times)
  • A family-owned African-American female trucking company is opening in Louisiana (Face2face) –  Durham trying to make it easier for younger people who want to have a career in transportation.
  • Black winemakers are climbing up the vine (Fortune). The U.S. has over 8,700 wineries, but less than 1% are Black-owned or have Black winemakers.
  • BET’s ‘Smoke’ shows how Black Americans deserve a piece of marijuana’s growing fortunes (Washington Post) – Black-owned businesses underrepresented by marijuana industry, despite facing heavy criminalization before its widespread legalization.
  • World Wide Technology Chairman Dave Steward on Founding the Largest Black-Owned Company in America (Time)

Protest / Social Justice

  • Portland’s anarchists say they support racial justice. Black activists want nothing to do with them (Los Angeles Times) – Many Black community leaders who marched in protests over the summer said that it is crucial to dissociate Black Lives Matter from anarchists.

Coronavirus / Covid-19 /  Paycheck Protection Program

  • COVID-19 Pandemic Takes A Financial Toll On Black And Latino Communities (WFAE) – People of color at a greater risk for health complications and finance complications due to COVID.
  • Summit County provides $5 million to more than 1,200 small businesses in final round of coronavirus relief grants (Cleveland) – Funded by the CARES Act, the final round of Emergency relief distributed to all eligible woman, minority, and Black owned businesses.
  • ‘It’s going to be devastating’: Philly’s Black biz owners lash out at Kenney’s new COVID-19 restrictions (Pennsylvania Capital Star) – Restrictions meant to curb COVID cases could lead to the reduction of Philadelphia’s Black-owned small businesses.
  • This Michigan store was a dream come true. Coronavirus still has it on hold. (Bridge Michigan) – If it weren’t for a very loyal following, Dinge’s dream business would have had to throw in the towel due to the Coronavirus.
  • From Tuskegee to a COVID Vaccine: Diversity and Racism Are Hurdles in Drug Trials (US News)
  • White and Black Communities In Maryland Experience A 20% Difference In Loans From CARES Act (CBS Baltimore). Black communities are receiving about 21.5 percent less money in loans.
  • For families of color, the pandemic brings an outsized financial hit (NBC News)

Jobs / Workers / Unemployment / Gig

Inequality / Systemic Racism / Economic Justice / UBI

  • The Empower Project Launched to Benefit Black-owned Businesses in The Consumer Packaged Goods Space (Food Industry Executive) — The goal of The Empower Project is to begin eradicating the wealth gap perpetuated by the underrepresentation of Black voices. (Read more).

Black Business General / Interesting Businesses Stories

  • Louisville non-profit launches initiative to bring Black businesses to Butchertown (WHAS 11) – Pocket Change to serve as a hub for Black businesses in Butchertown.
  • BMO Financial announces five-year, $5 billion investment in Black, Latino communities and businesses (Madison 365) – BMO investment looks to empower Black and Latino communities, specifically in Wisconsin.
  • A family-owned African-American female trucking company is opening in Louisiana (Face2face) –  Durham trying to make it easier for younger people who want to have a career in transportation.
  • How Major Brands Are Changing Their Approach to Black Culture (Complex)
  • Local Black businesses GRABB and go (Rapid Growth) – To uplift black businesses and entrepreneurs, GRABB has created a month of activities for the month of November geared toward the cause.
  • 2020 “Buy Black Buffalo Week” (Buffalo Rising) – References Buffalo Black business website: Brown Bag Certified
  • Chicago Announces “Black Shop Friday” Campaign To Encourage Supporting Black Owned Businesses (CBS Chicago) – Shop Black Friday website
  • Non-profit opens space offering Black businesses space to grow in Butchertown (WLKY) — ‘Change today, Change Tomorrow’ is giving black business owners a leg up in a part of town that’s not seen a lot of black-owned businesses.

Black Business Specific

  • Black-Owned Stock Market Company Launches Program Teaching Beginner Investors How to Make Money (Black News)
  • Black winemakers are climbing up the vine (Fortune). The U.S. has over 8,700 wineries, but less than 1% are Black-owned or have Black winemakers.
  • This car-sharing company wants to help Black entrepreneurs buy a vehicle (CBS News). Turo, the car sharing company, plans to lend $1 million in total for its “seed initiative” with to help historically disenfranchised entrepreneurs access wealth-building opportunities. 

Big Business

  • Coca-Cola commits $500 million in additional spending with Black-owned suppliers (The Atlanta Voice)
  • Advocate Aurora Health grants $675,000 to diversify health care workforce (WTMJ TV) – Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Discrimination

  • Realtors apologize for role in housing racial discrimination (Bloomberg) – Oh, really.  They did all that damage and want to escape with a simple apology.  This is a perfect example of why we need reparations, active enforcement of existing regulations, transparent data gathering and reporting and a proactive testing program.
  • When a white contractor realized his trade excluded minorities, he did something special (Greensboro News Record)- He trains some African Americans in HVAC.
  • Virginia AG’s office finds elite Loudoun STEM school discriminates against Black, Hispanic students (Washington Post) – On any discrimination story, you have to read the comments to understand how people justify discrimination even though it’s morally wrong.

Reparations / Affirmative Action / Diversity / Inclusion

  • UC Berkeley: The Case For Reparations (Berkeley Patch)
  • Black Land Matters. But Is Crowdfunding Enough? (Civil Eats) — multiple efforts are afoot to begin to help Black farmers gain access to land and rebuild stolen wealth and labor.
  • Black Lives Matter – where are we now and what can you do? (World Economic Forum) – Among other initiatives, California governor looking into reparations for slavery.
  • Biden needs to push for reparations to address the racism that long preceded Trump (MSNBC)

Economics

Black Economics

  • So, you’ve pledged your support for Black-owned restaurants in New York City—what’s next? (Time out) – In a capitalist society, investment in Black-owned businesses is necessary.
  • John Malone Partners with Bob Johnson to Help Minorities Increase Retirement Savings (Herald Mail Media) —  Partnership between Malone and Johnson aims to extend inclusive capitalism.

Straight up Econ / The economy

  • TIAA’s Ferguson, Possible Biden Treasury Pick, Faults Wealth Gap (Bloomberg). Ferguson states the U.S economy could be six percent bigger than it is today if policy makers narrowed the country’s wealth gap
  • Unemployment Claims Rise as Economic Worries Grow (New York Times)
  • The Democrats’ Push to ‘Cancel’ $50k in Student Loan Debt Completely Ignores the Real Reason College Is So Expensive (Foundation for Economic Education)
  • Nearly 2/3 of older Black Americans can’t afford to live alone without help (The Business Journal)

Category Stories

Sports / Media / Entertainment

  • Obama says ‘the bling, the women, the money’ in rap music could explain Trump’s increased appeal to some rappers and Black male voters (Business Insider) – Obama says America’s caste system of the rich and the poor has saturated most of today’s rap music, which can explain why Trump secured more Black voters.

Alcohol / Marijuana

  • Basketball star Hughes opens Missouri’s only black-owned cannabis shops (St. Louis American) – Hughes to make history with the opening of the only Black-owned cannabis businesses in Missouri.
  • Al Harrington & ‘Smoke: Marijuana + Black America’ (EUR Exclusive/Watch) (Eurweb) – Al Harrington is aiming to create a voice for people of color in the cannabis industry.
  • BET’s ‘Smoke’ shows how Black Americans deserve a piece of marijuana’s growing fortunes (Washington Post) – Black-owned businesses underrepresented by marijuana industry, despite facing heavy criminalization before its widespread legalization.
  • Discussing cannabis, death, and social justice with a death doula (Weed Maps) – Well aware of the role cannabis plays in the criminalization of Blackness, Casey says we need to support Black businesses and Black and brown people first.

Technology / Apps / Innovation

  • Can We Make Our Robots Less Biased Than We Are? (NY Times)
  • World Wide Technology Chairman Dave Steward on Founding the Largest Black-Owned Company in America (Time)
  • African-American astronaut pilots SpaceX capsule to International Space Station (Richmond Free Press)
  • $2.1 million investment to drive Black tech (The Miami Times). The Knight Foundation, Surdna Foundation, and Comcast NBCUniversal have made contributions to this investment.

Finance / Investing

  • A Black-founder used this unusual pitch deck to raise $17 million from Ashton Kutcher, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, and the CEO of Qualtrics (Business Insider) – Black entrepreneur secures major investors with creative pitch.
  • Black Billionaire (Robert Smith) Has to Pay Back $140M After Admitting to Tax Evasion (EURweb.Com)
  • Modernizing the Social Contract With Investment Fiduciaries (Center for American Progress) – ESG –Long, boring but important

Real Estate / Finance / Housing / Development / Segregation

  • Hill District residents, firms tapped to guide $1B redevelopment of former Civic Arena in Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh Tribune)
  • Black leaders call on Panama City to ‘scrap’ Glenwood plans over gentrification worries (Panama City News Herald)
  • Is Your City Planning for Black-Owned Businesses? (Next City) – BLCK SPCES focusing on helping Black and Hispanic communities get their ideas and designs through the planning and zoning process.

Politics / Government / State and Local

Education / Healthcare

  • Guest column: Social and economic mobility are the higher calling for higher education (The Business Journals)
  • DSU, Bank of America announce $1 million employment initiative (Delaware Business Now). This initiative will help students of color successfully complete their education and provide training necessary to enter the workforce.
  • Walmart and North Carolina A&T State University Team up to Launch ‘Equity in Education Initiative’ (Business Wire)
  • Many US business schools are enrolling record numbers of ethnic minority students (Find MBA) – Since 2009, the percentage of GMAT exams taken by Black citizens was 8%. Business schools looking to curb this trend by enrolling more Black students and offering support.

Farming / Agriculture

  • Black Farmers Have Been Robbed of Land. A New Bill Would Give Them a “Quantum Leap” Toward Justice. (Mother Jones)

Science / Math / Statistics / STEM

  • P&G’s Royal Oils and Gold Series Announce Ongoing Commitment to Support Black Women in STEM (Valdosta Daily Times) – P&G brands working to grant $200,000 in scholarships to Black women in STEM

People and Careers

Career / Professions / Entrepreneurship / Businesses You Can Start

  • To jump-start America’s economy, invest in women entrepreneurs of color (Fortune)

People / Motivation / Leadership / Success Stories / Ideas

  • World Wide Technology Chairman Dave Steward on Founding the Largest Black-Owned Company in America (Time)
  • An astonishing number of Black women are running their own small businesses (NJ.Com)
  • Black Restaurant Week Features NYC Eateries to Boost Business Amid COVID (NBC New York) – Tilly’s one of the Black restaurants highlighted during Black Restaurant week in New York.
  • Former slave followed his life’s path to politics and wealth (Arkansas Democrat Gazette) –Havis’s rise from a plantation to riches shows his resilience and spirit despite difficult circumstances
  • Little Haiti’s COOL Creative Gets a Boost From Beyoncé and the NAACP (Miami New Times) – Wilson receives $10,000 funding from BeyGood, says her business stood out because she is actually contributing to the community.
  • Only One Eatery East Of The River Is Participating In DMV Black Restaurant Week (WAMU) – Weeklong event supporting visibility of Black-owned restaurants features only one business from city’s area with largest population of Black residents.
  • ‘One-in-a-million chance.’ How Beyoncé helped this Black-owned hotel during COVID (Miami Herald) – Beyoncé and NAACP team up to provide $10,000 grant for Ross and West’s Bed & Breakfast
  • Barbara Turner to become next president and CEO of Ohio National Financial Services (Yahoo News)

All Other

Caribbean / Africa / International

Travel / History

  • Life after the ‘Green Book’: What is the future for Black travelers in America? (National Geographic)

Opinion

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