Top Stories

• Job creation is the key to reducing violence and providing critical social services (Philadelphia Tribune)
  
• “The economic state of Black America: What is and what could be” (McKinsey). Lots of great points in this study. Black people work disproportionally in low-wage occupations. Also closing the pay gap in 20 specific professions would drastically reduce income inequality. Black people live in consumer deserts. And finally, 3.5 million Black Americans have a negative net worth.
  
• Axios discusses the report here in an article (Axios) and has a podcast here of the discussion.
  
• 3.5 million African-American households have negative net worth, new study finds (CNN)
• Sadie Alexander, The first Black PhD Black Economics provides a solution to our problems today (Pennsylvania News Today) – Full employment
• Poverty Across Generations Is Largely Gone for White Americans (Bloomberg)
  
• Founder Of 1863 Ventures, Melissa Bradley, Is Helping Entrepreneurs Build Black-Owned Businesses (Forbes) — Written by Chris Gray, founder of scholly.com 
• Fortune 500 appointed record number of Black board directors in 2020 (PR Newswire). Meanwhile racial diversity stagnated on corporate boards, study finds (CNBC)
• Tech’s growth leaves Black professionals further behind (Computer World) — African Americans face large disadvantages in getting tech jobs and being paid well for their work — just as other Black-heavy industries see shrinking employment. Study from conference board below.
• Mind the Gap: Factors driving growing wage gaps and solutions to close them (Conference Board)
• Percentage of new African-American directors on Fortune 500 boards from 2009 to 2019 (Statistica)
• The field of economics has a racial-disparity problem, Fed leaders say, and that worries them (Chicago Sun-Times) – Here is Bill Spriggs on the same topic — “There appears to be no evidence that will get economists to admit, yes, there is discrimination, and, yes, it matters,” said William Spriggs, chief economist for the AFL-CIO.
• Get to Know These Amazing 27-Black Owned Businesses in Alexandria (The Zebra) – Features hen quarter which is managed by Thompson Hospitality, America’s largest minority-owned food and facilities management company. Also interesting to see what kinds of Black owned business exist in an upper income area.
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Stories

Coronavirus / Covid-19 / Paycheck Protection Program

• How PPP loans benefited the Bay Area’s wealthy, white areas more than those with large Black and Latino communities (San Francisco Chronicle)
• Black Business Registrations Increase During COVID Pandemic (Seattle Medium)

Jobs / Workers / Unemployment / Gig Economy

• Job creation is the key to reducing violence and providing critical social services (Philadelphia Tribune)
  
• Biden signs bill making Juneteenth a federal holiday (Associated Press)
  
• For many Black employees, working from home can provide relief from inequitable workplaces (Marketplace)
  
• Tech’s growth leaves Black professionals further behind (Computer World) — African Americans face large disadvantages in getting tech jobs and being paid well for their work — just as other Black-heavy industries see shrinking employment. Study from conference board below.
  
• Mind the Gap: Factors driving growing wage gaps and solutions to close them (Conference Board)
  
• Why are unemployment rates higher for Black and Hispanic workers? (Marketplace)
• Why Black Women Are Leaving the Workforce (Barron’s)
• For these companies, a year of hardship spurs new beginnings (Washington Post)
• Hear Us: The Devastating Cost of Cutting Unemployment Benefits (Next City)
• On LGBTQ+ Equal Pay Day, the U.S. still doesn’t know the size of the wage gap (PBS)

Black Business

• More Americans Saving for Emergencies, But Big Racial Gap Remains (Dakota Free Press)
• Workplace racism and its undeniable impact on mental health (Mental Health Today)
• Black Americans Earn 30% Less Than White Americans, While Black Households Have Just One-Eighth Wealth Of White Households (Forbes)
• How To Ensure Your Company’s Anti-Racism Work Is Effective, Not Performative (Forbes)

Black Business General / Interesting Businesses Stories

• How to Accelerate Gains for Your Small Business in Uncertain Times (Entrepreneur)
• Black-Owned Businesses To Support Right Now (Yahoo Finance)
• ‘It’s like they’ve been trying to give Black people a chance to make it’: Black business owners feel supported by Quad-City community (Quad-City Times)
• Brown alumna captures Pulitzer Prize for study of McDonald’s franchises in Black America (Brown University)

Black Business Specific

• Ian Smith, Local entrepreneur seeks to grow full service architecture firm (Philadelphia Tribune)
• Get to Know These Amazing 27-Black Owned Businesses in Alexandria (The Zebra) – Features hen quarter which is managed by Thompson Hospitality, America’s largest minority-owned food and facilities management company. Also interesting to see what kinds of Black owned business exist in an upper income area.

Black Economics

Black Economics

• “The economic state of Black America: What is and what could be” (McKinsey). Lots of great points in this study. Black people work disproportionally in low-wage occupations. Also closing the pay gap in 20 specific professions would drastically reduce income inequality. Black people live in consumer deserts. And finally, 3.5 million Black Americans have a negative net worth.
  
• 3.5 million African-American households have negative net worth, new study finds (CNN)
• Axios discusses the report here in an article (Axios) and has a podcast here of the discussion.
  
• Sadie Alexander, The first Black PhD Black Economics provides a solution to our problems today (Pennsylvania News Today) – Full employment
• The field of economics has a racial-disparity problem, Fed leaders say, and that worries them (Chicago Sun-Times)
• Editorial: Economics is the study of efficiency and the real-world. However, in the theoretical, economic world there is no logical room for discrimination. Discrimination is inefficient; so economists say, “Ill ignore it”, “It does not affect my models”, or “I’ll let someone else model discrimination and until they do, I won’t account for it,” or worse “It’s a social science problem.” Thanks Gary Becker. Discrimination is always someone else’s problem. It does not make economic sense, so they treat it like it does not exist and kick the can down the road.
• Here is Bill Spriggs on the same topic — “There appears to be no evidence that will get economists to admit, yes, there is discrimination, and, yes, it matters,” said William Spriggs, chief economist for the AFL-CIO.
• Long shadows: The Black-white gap in multigenerational poverty (Brookings)
  
• The Key To Closing The Racial Wealth Gap: Black Entrepreneurship (Forbes)
• Some Economics of Black America (BBN Times)
• The Conversion of Thomas Sowell (Reason) – Conservative
• General discussion of the Black economic situation in the US featuring Cecilia Rouse, John Rodgers and some McKinsey data. (Washington Post) — Rouse stays on message. Rodgers promotes investments and financial literacy. McKinsey data is interesting.
• Here is the transcript.

Straight up Econ / The economy

• What Will It Take to Close the Wealth Gap? (Wharton)
  
• Poverty Across Generations Is Largely Gone for White Americans (Bloomberg)
  

General Business

Big Business / Corporate / Business Strategy

• Amazon’s Black employees say the company’s HR department is failing them (Vox)
  
• Rebranded Aunt Jemima Maker Creates Black Female Empowerment Grants (Nonprofit Times)
  
• Best Buy plans to spend $1.2B on diverse suppliers across its business (Retail Drive)
• Why this entrepreneur thinks retailers’ approach to stocking Black-founded brands is ‘lazy’ (Fortune)
• How public letters became companies’ favorite form of activism (Indian Express)
• How should (and shouldn’t) retailers honor Juneteenth? (Retail Wire)
• How 14 Black creatives got 800 companies to honor Juneteenth (Fast Company)
• Dear Companies, No Black Squares This Juneteenth (NBC)
• How corporate America is approaching Juneteenth, the newest national holiday (NBC News)

Discrimination

• Women in finance feel overlooked for ‘mediocre’ male co-workers, UK study finds (CNBC)
• ViewPoint: 50th Anniversary of “War On Drugs” (Saulton Online)
• South Bend’s contracting with minority-owned firms is far off pace from goal (South Bend Tribune)

Real Estate / Housing / Segregation

• Biden’s housing secretary calls student-loan debt a barrier to Black Homeownership (Business Insider)
• These Black developers are buying back the block (Crain’s Chicago Business)

Reparations / Affirmative Action / Diversity / Inclusion

• The debate over slavery reparations: Where things stand to how much it could cost (CBNC). A cost estimate for reparations could be as high as $19 trillion.
  
• To bring economic equality to women of color, we must do better than ‘build back better’ (Fortune)
  
• America needs ‘wealth redistribution,’ not ‘income transfer’: Trevon Logan, Economist (Yahoo Finance)
  
• 11 US mayors commit to develop reparations pilot projects for slavery (Business Standard)
  
• What a reparations program would look like in The City (San Francisco Examiner)
  
• Building Black wealth starts with reparations and home ownership: Spelman economist Dr. Suneye Rae Holmes (Yahoo Finance)
  

Industries and Categories

• Estee Lauder Boosts Black Hiring, Plans Global Training Push (Bloomberg)
  
• Industries and How to Set — and Meet — Your Company’s Diversity Goals (Harvard Business Review)
• United Airlines Honors Juneteenth With an All-Black Crew on a Flight From Houston to Chicago (Travel Leisure)
• 3 red flags that show a company doesn’t really value diversity and equity (Fast Company)
• What Does It Take to Build a Culture of Belonging? (Harvard Business Review)
• Black owned businesses make up less than 2% of all US corporations. There could be a $700 billion reward for those who can fill the gap. (Business Insider)
• How These Experts Think Companies Can Incorporate Justice Into DEI Practices (Forbes)
• Walk together: Diversity to racial equality (Charlotte Business Journal)
• Evanston, Illinois, to begin paying reparations to some Black citizens this Summer (ABC 7)
• One Year Later, LA Companies Make Progress on Diversity (Los Angeles Business Journal)

Categories and Industries

• How 4th Avenue Is Reinventing Retail For The Black Community (Forbes)

Sports / Media / Entertainment

• TikTok Begins Accepting Applications for Support Black Businesses Cohort No. 2 (Adweek)
• Lansing studio pays homage to Black history while creating space for Michigan Filmmakers (Michigan Radio)
• 20 Companies Commit to Spend at Least 2% of Their Total Annual Media Budgets in Black-Owned Media through GroupM’s Media Inclusion Initiative (PRNewswire) 
• A’s ‘surprised’ that Oakland may consider proposal from new group to buy half of Coliseum site (San Francisco Chronicle)

• More than sports: Oakland group’s WNBA, NFL, Coliseum playbook (San Francisco Business Times)
• FOX SOUL, BLACK ENTERPRISE ANNOUNCE CONTENT PARTNERSHIP FOR ORIGINAL PROGRAMMING (Black Enterprise)

Alcohol / Marijuana / CBD / Gambling

• CEO of Black-Owned Whiskey Distiller Launches Fund to Help Black-owned marijuana company looks to break into recreational market, reinvest in communities (mlive)
• Black farmers will be given priority in getting medical marijuana licenses (Sun Sentinel)
• Florida prioritizing a Black farmer in next batch of medical marijuana licenses (Tampa Bay Times)
• Governor expected to sign cannabis bill – and not a minute too soon for Black, Brown business owners (Austin Talks)
• Can racial equality be built into the US cannabis industry? (Financial Times)
• The cannabis bill does not offer the promise of equity its framers claim (CT Mirror)
• Councilor seeking ‘equity’ in marijuana ownership (Salem News)
• Other African-Americans In Spirits Industry ‘Build Generational Wealth’ (Atlanta Black Star)
• A Black Woman’s Mission To Make Washington D.C. The Capital Of Cannabis (Forbes)
  
• Director of group responsible for $20,000 Stoney campaign donation listed as Urban ONE casino investor (WRIC) – Richmond, Va.

Food / Restaurants

• Restaurants Are Now Adding ‘Equity’ Charges to Customers’ Checks to Fight Oppression (Fee)

Beauty / Fashion / Retail

• Why Are Black Designers Not Held To The Same Standard As Mainstream Designers? (Essence). It is up to the customers to help emotionally support these black businesses.
  
• How The Athlete’s Foot Is Helping Boost Black Ownership With a New Franchising Program (Footwear News)
  
• You can apply to the STAART program here.
  
• Tracking Fashion’s Diversity: What the 20 Biggest Apparel Companies Have Done Since the Black Squares (WWD)
  

Finance / Investing / Venture Capital / Banking

• Cryptocurrency Venture Fund Launches to Focus on Black Startups (Bloomberg)
  
• Investment in Black entrepreneurs is on the rise (Marketplace)
  
• Founder Of 1863 Ventures, Melissa Bradley, Is Helping Entrepreneurs Build Black-Owned Businesses (Forbes) — Written by Chris Gray, founder of scholly.com
  
• Banks facing calls to address racial barriers (Investment Executive)
• Hip Hop artist, businessman Killer Mike talks entrepreneurship and banking Black (Final Call)
• Killer Mike’s banks need to postpone their launch again to keep up with high customer demand (Pennsylvania News Today)
• ‘You need to find a way to get capital to Black-owned businesses:’ Milken Institute (Yahoo Finance)
• The Clubby World of Venture Capital Finds a New Bet: Black Entrepreneurs (Wall Street Journal)
• Black Female-Founded Companies Need Funding, Not Accelerators Or Incubators (Forbes)
• Black Thought: Curing the Racial Wealth Gap by Reclaiming the Black Wall Street Mindset (Ebony)
• The importance of building Black wealth for future generations: ‘You will create millionaires’ (ABC News)
• Why the World Needs More Black Accountants (NY Times)
• Big banks want communities of color to trust them. But it’s not so simple (LA Times)

Real Estate / Finance / Development / Segregation

• The red-hot housing market is leaving people of color behind. JPMorgan is pushing for new rules to fight ‘appraisal bias’ in real estate (Business Insider)
  
• Remarks by the Acting Comptroller of the Currency on Reducing Bias in Real Estate Appraisals (Office of Comptroller of Currency) – Press Release
• The Black Homeownership Gap Is Worse. Here’s What’s Being Done. (Forbes)
• Black appraisers call out industry’s racial bias and need for systemic change (NBC News)
  
• Wells Fargo Has Programs to Help African American Homebuyers in Sellers’ Market (Washington Informer)
  
• History of redlining helps explain present-day injustices in the housing market (Gainesville Sun)
• Widening homeownership gap in Twin Cities is focus of new report (Minn Post)

Technology / Apps / Innovation

• Only 4.8% of designers are Black. Herman Miller, Adobe, and Gap unveil a plan to change that (Fast Company)
• How can employers help underrepresented tech pros get hired via upskilling? (Technically)
• Tech companies lag behind their Black Lives Matter pledges (MIT Sloan School)
• How Big Tech Allows the Racial Wealth Gap to Persist (New York Times)
• ‘I don’t think you can have an anti-racist tech company at scale’ (Fast Company)

Cities / Urban Planning / Local Government

• New bill aims to force Canada to tackle ‘systemic’ environmental racism (The Guardian)
• These Black developers are buying back the block (Chicago Business)
• For(bes) The Culture Newsletter: Calling All Black And Brown Community Champions (Forbes)
• Wealthy Investors Are Not the Answer for Revitalizing Black Neighborhoods (Bloomberg)
• How to rebuild neighborhoods? Start with equitable transit. (Crain’s Chicago Business) –Always keep your eye on potential gentrification.
• Elevated Chicago: Promotes equitable transit oriented development.

Politics / Government / State and Local

• Biden signs bill making Juneteenth a federal holiday (Associated Press)
• How policymakers can stave off another crisis for small businesses (The Hill)
• Is the US properly measuring its economy to include Black America? (Yahoo News)
• Biden’s nominations for the Fed can change the economy. But his first is stuck in limbo. (Washington Post)

Taxes / Tax Policy

• Detroit’s Black Wealth Tax. Detroit’s tax burden is one of the highest in the US for a city. (City Journal) – Conservative viewpoint. Wants to slash city government. The real answers are not easy. There is no new state aid nor does the city want to lay people off. However high city taxes stop Blacks from accumulating wealth.
• Here is a link to city level tax burden data for the largest cities in the US

Education / Healthcare

• ‘Achievement gap’ is rooted in systemic racism (Gainesville Sun)
• Camden aims to put more teachers of color in the classroom (NJ Spotlight)
• How Did Gaps in Hospital Quality Affect COVID-19 Health Disparities? (Patient Engagement)
• Hospitals: One Reason COVID Is More Lethal for Black Americans (Health Day)
• Segregated hospitals are killing Black people. Data from the pandemic proves it. (Washington Post)
• “Would Black America Benefit from Biden’s Proposed FY 2022 Education Program?” (The Tennessee Tribune)
• Doug Wilder and VA education secretary call for more investment in Virginia’s historically Black colleges (VA Mercury)

Farming / Agriculture / Food Production

• Black farmers fight to keep their land, cultivate next generation (WHIO)
• After years of setbacks, socially disadvantaged farmers get debt relief (Marketplace)
• U.S. Farmers Of Color Were About To Get Loan Forgiveness. Now The Program Is On Hold (NPR)

Transportation / Warehousing, Logistics

• How to rebuild neighborhoods? Start with equitable transit (Chicago Business)

People, Careers and All Other

Career / Professions / Entrepreneurship / Businesses You Can Start

• How Lauren Maillian Is Driving Change For Black And Latinx Women Entrepreneurs In The Digital Age (Forbes)
• How The Athlete’s Foot Is Helping Boost Black Ownership With a New Franchising Program (Footwear News)
  
• Get to Know These Amazing 27-Black Owned Businesses in Alexandria (The Zebra) – Features hen quarter which is managed by Thompson Hospitality, America’s largest minority-owned food and facilities management company. Also interesting to see what kinds of Black owned business exist in an upper income area.
• Black Wall Street Is Alive and Thriving—and America Needs It Now More Than Ever (Robb Report)

People / Motivation / Leadership / Success Stories / Ideas

• How The Vision Of This Female Founder Has Created Unrivaled Access For Black Voices In Media (Forbes)
  
• Founder Of 1863 Ventures, Melissa Bradley, Is Helping Entrepreneurs Build Black-Owned Businesses (Forbes) — Written by Chris Gray, founder of scholly.com
• Catching up with Kevin Gatlin, a Voice for Charlotte entrepreneur who landed product deals with major retailers (QCity)
• With ‘Launch Thy Neighbor,’ A Black Sommelier Is Giving Women Chefs Of Color Workers (Pro Market)
• Their Own Stage In Wicker Park (Block Club Chicago)
• Davis is named USDA specialist (Arkansas Online)

Business Strategy / Small Business Strategy

• Small Business, Big Mission: Bridging the gap for other Black women (Baltimore Business Journal)
• Candace Marie Stewart’s Black in Corporate Initiative Partners with Kering (Baltimore Business Journal)

Caribbean / Africa / International

• New Brixton business showcases Black-owned brands (Brixton Blog)
• The Women that Run Big Business in Africa (Presswire)
• NBA grants $500K to Toronto organization to build economic prosperity among Black Canadian youth (Global News) – Canada. Black unemployment is twice White unemployment in Canada. Career Education Empowerment Centre for Young Black Professionals (CEEToronto)

Travel / History

• What is Juneteenth? (Washington Post). A cool and interactive article highlighting the history of Juneteenth.
• ‘Forgotten history’: Can Columbia’s East 8th Street neighborhood be revitalized? (Columbia Daily Herald)
• Hundreds of places in Virginia were listed in the famed ‘Green Book.’ This project seeks to find them all (Roanoke)
• Unpublished 1936 guide The Complete List of Marxist, Un-American, Anti-White Things (According to White People) (The Root) — Long before Critical Race Theory or the 1619 Project, white America used the term ‘Marxist,’ ‘Communist’ and ‘Un-American’ to condemn Black life in Charleston reveals city’s movements.
• Unpublished 1936 guide to Black life in Charleston reveals city’s first restaurant critic (Post and Courier)
• The first PhD idea in Black Economics provides a solution to our problems today (Pennsylvania News Today)—Full employment
• The future of the I-375 boulevard project and the history behind it (Click On Detroit)

Conservative / Alternative

• Florida Rep. Byron Donald’s says Black America struggling under Biden economic policies (Fox Business)
  

Opinion

• Can direct cash payments for Black families work? (Yahoo News)

Other