“She-cession” threatens economic recovery (Axios). Fears that the women who left the workforce won’t return and the chances are higher with Black women.
Marketers Are Underpaying Black Influencers While Pushing Black Lives Matter (Bloomberg)
Hollywood is losing out on $10 billion in revenue every year by underfunding work by Black creators (Business Insider)
Black Americans are not investing in the stock market, and it’s costing them (The Denver Channel).
How Unfair Property Taxes Keep Black Families From Gaining Wealth (Bloomberg). Caused by the overvaluation of Black homes and the undervaluation of securing mortgages.
Stories
Coronavirus / Covid-19 / Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)
Many Still Dealing with COVID-Related Financial Loss (Manufacturing)
Black-owned businesses face obstacles with Paycheck Protection Program (Yahoo News)
Newark art gallery owner fights to stay open during the pandemic (News 12 Connecticut)
TruFund, a Community Development Financial Institution, based in New York, distributed 87% of it’s PPP loans to minority businesses. (PR Newswire). TruFund PPP report is here.
Jobs / Workers / Unemployment / Gig Economy
“She-cession” threatens economic recovery (Axios). Fears that the women who left the workforce won’t return and the chances are higher with Black women.
A Year Later, Who Is Back to Work and Who Is Not? (New York Times)
‘Raising the Minimum Wage Has Direct Implications for Black Families’ (Fair)
Glassdoor rates the best companies for Black employees (EBN)
On International Women’s Day, a Look Back at the Last Year in Pandemic for Working Women (Wall Street Journal)
Black and Hispanic women aren’t sharing in the job market recovery (CNBC)
Pandemic exposes corporations’ true aims: Gig-ifying more jobs (Black VoiceNews)
Hiking the Minimum Wage to $15 Is Key — But It’s Hardly a Living Wage (Truthout)
Employment Rates Are Dropping Among Black Women, Data Shows (Madam Noire)
Inequality / Systemic Racism / Economic Justice
Marketers Are Underpaying Black Influencers While Pushing Black Lives Matter (Bloomberg)
Goldman: Closing the earnings gap for Black women would contribute up to $300B to U.S. GDP (Yahoo Finance)
In East Tampa, pandemic relief merges with small business development (Tampa Bay Times)
Racial inequality is a business risk (CBR) — Long-term investors and corporate leaders must help address racial injustice and economic inequity
Black women’s wealth is 90% lower than White men. Goldman Sachs is investing billions to change that (Philadelphia Tribune)
The Next Phase Of Retail: Values Driven Marketplaces (Forbes) – Marketplaces focusing on social impact and underrepresented communities are thriving.
New stimulus proposals look like a guaranteed income experiment. Early results show whether it will work (CNBC)
Black Business General / Interesting Businesses Stories
How he built one of the Charlotte area’s fastest-growing Black-owned businesses (Charlotte Business Journal)
25 Black-owned brands to shop for your everyday essentials (CNN)
N.J. foundation invests $1M for unconventional loans to support Black-owned businesses (NJ.Com)
Nashville’s iconic Lower Broadway gets its first Black-owned businesses (Marketplace)
Florence native fights food insecurity and hopes to inspire future business owners (WPDE) – Florence, SC
International Women’s Day: Meet the two best friends from Birmingham taking the business world by storm (The Voice) — Niyo Enterprise was created to be a platform to empower black women.
8 Black Women Owned Brands To Support For International Women’s Day (Essence)
To weather coronavirus, Black and brown-owned businesses show grit and Determination (MSN)
He put it all on the line opening his butcher shop a year ago. Then the pandemic hit. (Washington Post)
Pandemic highlights hardships black business owners face (WETA / PBS Newshour)
Black Business Specific
Black-owned “Oooh Wee It Is” Restaurant Opens Second Location in Chicago (Chicago Crusader) – Restaurant concept.
Mo’s Bows partners with GoDaddy for Black business development (Daily Memphian)
L. Brian Jenkins has brought his businesses Entrenuity, Mox.E and Overflow Coffee to the South Loop to provide services to help entrepreneurs. (Chicago Sun Times). Here is the website for Entrenuity mentioned in the story.
Big Business / Corporate
Goldman Sachs to invest billions in Black women (Marketplace)
Nike sets fresh diversity targets for 2025, and ties executive compensation to hitting them (CNBC)
Keep an eye on these four companies and their diversity efforts(CBS News) – Bank of America, UPS, Netflix and Walmart are leader in diversity and inclusion. They also have a large Black consumer base.
Discrimination
Noose hanging at job site targeted Black worker at NC electric company, lawsuit Says (Charlotte Observer)
Only 1.3% of farmers in the US are Black, and some say they still face Discrimination (Business Insider)
‘Second-Class Citizens’: Black Amazon Manager Sues Company Over Alleged Racial Discrimination, Harassment (Daily Beast)
UCLA-led Study Reveals ‘Hidden Costs’ of Being Black in the U.S. (Newswise) – Press release.
Money Protects White but Not African American Men against Discrimination: Comparison of African American and White Men in the Same Geographic Areas (IJERPH Journal Citation)
Chicago suburb to become first city to give Black residents reparations (NBC News)
Evanston, Illinois, Could Be First City to Use Marijuana Tax to Fund Reparations for Black Residents (News Week)
Lindsey Graham criticizes COVID stimulus funds for Black farmers. ‘That’s reparations’ (Tri-City Herald)
For The Culture Newsletter: Going Beyond Black History Month With Our State Of Black Entrepreneurship Project (Forbes)
This Black Family Ran a Thriving Beach Resort 100 Years Ago. They Want Their Land Back. (New York Times)
Keep an eye on these 4 companies and their diversity efforts (CBS News)
Black History Month branding was good. Now companies need to do it for the whole year (Fast Company)
These Black Women Are Bringing Representation To The Podcast Space (Forbes)
How to hire more black women for leadership roles (Financial Times)
Economics
Black Economics
Revolution’s David Hall talks Covid-19, venture capital and what the future holds for Rise of the Rest (Washington Business Journal)
Experts Detail How Student Loan Debt Is Strangling Black and Latino Students (SacObserver) – Black and Latino students have higher debt, and the borrowing of money creates vicious economic cycle preventing generational wealth.
“She-cession” threatens economic recovery (Axios) — Decades of the slow economic progress women made catching up to men evaporated in just one year.
Banking co-ops run by Black women have a longtime legacy of helping people (TheConversation)
Relief bill is most significant legislation for Black farmers since Civil Rights Act, experts say (Washington Post)
Straight up Econ / The Economy
Child allowances could save working families. ‘Promoting marriage’ definitely won’t (Fortune) – Good discussion of marriage subsidies.
To Juice the Economy, Biden Bets on the Poor (New York Times)
When You’re a Small Business, E-Commerce Is Tougher Than It Looks (New York Times) – Big business is killing small business, especially in the e-commerce space.
Analysis: U.S. central bankers are mostly white men. The Fed wants to change that (Reuters)
How this nonprofit is ‘Turning Tables’ for Black bartenders, tackling industry racial inequality (NOLA.Com) – There has been lots of discrimination in “the front of the house”. Turning Tables, which is referenced in the story, is working to fix the problem. Mino Foundation is also mentioned. Nice, long story. The BLS says 84% of bartenders are White.
Alcohol / Marijuana / CBD / Gambling
Meet the youngest Black woman dispensary owner in the U.S. breaking barriers in the cannabis industry (CBS News).
Black Entrepreneurs Are ‘Going Green’ With Cannabis Companies (Newsweek)
Constellation Brands Announces Commitment to Invest $10 Million in ‘Clear Vision Impact Fund’ to Support Black and Minority-Owned Businesses (GlobalNewsWire) – Press release
Brough Brothers Bourbon files false advertising lawsuit against Lexington company (Louisville Business First)
Uncle Nearest Is Now the Best-Selling African-American Owned and Founded Spirits Brand Ever (InsideHook)
African American Owned and Founded Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey Achieves Sales Milestone of 1.5 million bottles (Bevnet)
Detroit overwhelmed by applicants for recreational marijuana shop licenses (The Detroit News) – 50% of license will go to “legacy” Detroiters.
Technology / Apps / Innovation
BIPOC students gain web design skills while building sites for Black-owned businesses (Geek Wire) – Black employees make up only 3.7% of web developers nationwide. Program seeks to help change this.
Finance / Investing / Venture Capital
Black Americans are not investing in the stock market, and it’s costing them (The Denver Channel).
Goldman Sachs Unveils $10 Billion Push to Invest in Black Women (Wall Street Journal)
Transcript: Race in America: Minority-Owned Businesses with Mellody Hobson, Co-CEO & President of Ariel Investments (Washington Post)
Legendary investor John Rogers Jr. wants you to have this money conversation with your kids (Fortune)
Black Investor Survey 2020 Press Release: New Ariel-Schwab Black Investor Survey Shows Black Americans Continue to Trail Their White Counterparts in Building Wealth (BusinessWire) – Press Release
Real Estate / Finance / Development / Housing / Segregation
Black homeownership rate hits lowest level since the 1960s — that’s unlikely to change in Pandemic Year 2 (MarketWatch)
How Unfair Property Taxes Keep Black Families From Gaining Wealth (Bloomberg). Caused by the overvaluation of Black homes and the undervaluation of securing mortgages.
It pays to get a 2nd home appraisal, especially if you’re a Black homeowner, hidden camera investigation shows (CBC) – Canada has a problem too.
A beach in LA Country, potentially worth up to $72 million, may go back to the descendants of the first Black owners (Becauseofthemwecan)
5 road projects threaten long-established Black communities across the Lowcountry (Charleston Post and Courier) – You must own land to have agency.
Politics / Government / State and Local
Biden Bill’s Aid to Minority Farmers Spotlights Post-Trump Pivot (Bloomberg)
How $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill aims to help Black and socially disadvantaged farmers (USA Today)
Treasury makes $9B investment in minority communities through Emergency Capital Investment Program (Augusta Free Press)
Two Decades After the ‘End of Welfare,’ Democrats Are Changing Direction (New York Times)
Law / Legal / Non-profits / Philanthropy / Non-Profit
Black Media Alliance of NY hosts Black Economic Empowerment Talk (NY Carib News) – Only 2% of contracts in NYC go to Black firms.
HR / Personnel / Human Capital
DIVERSANT Acquires Atrilogy Solutions Group (PR Newswire)
Education / Healthcare
‘A Lot of My Lower Ones Are Blacks’: Georgetown Law Adjunct Resigns Over Grading Comments (Law)
Howard University Receives $4.9M Grant For Music Business Center (NewsOne)
Former UPS executive raises pledge to Morgan State to $15 millions dollars total (African American Voice)
Spelman, Morehouse and Black Economic Alliance open center for Entrepreneurship (Because of them we can)
Farming / Agriculture / Food
Biden to Sign Bill with $4 Billion in Debt Relief for Minority Farmers (Agriculture)
The COVID-19 relief bill includes $5 billion in aid for farmers of color who have long faced discrimination by federal officials (Business Insider)
People and Careers
Career / Professions / Entrepreneurship / Businesses You Can Start
Marcia Fudge confirmed as first Black woman to lead HUD in more than 40 years (Washington Post)
The typical White business owner has over 2.5 times the liquid wealth of the typical Black business owner in each of the first four years. (JP Morgan Chase)
People / Motivation / Leadership / Success Stories / Ideas
Shalanda Baker and the energy crisis plaguing Black and brown Americans (NBC News). Baker dives deep into the energy injustice African Americans face.
Exclusive: Why this local recording artist started Black Men Ventures — and what it means for D.C.-area startups (Washington Business Journal)
Rebound: Business-ing While Black (NBC Bay Area) – Gourmonade owner Vicktor Stevenson reflects on racism
Lisa Wardell, Chairman and CEO of Adtalem Global Education Inc., was elected to Board of Directors at American Express (AfroTech)
All Other
Caribbean / Africa / International
African payments company Flutterwave is valued at $1 Billion (TechCrunch)
Travel / History
From buggies to buses, the first Black-owned US automaker did what few others dared (ARS Technica)
Classic / Old stories but good stories
Many lessons were taught in local Black barber shops (Cornelius Today)
Conservative / Alternative
The case against reparations Part II (Antelope Valley Press) – Larry Elder. We can’t do reparations because we don’t know who is responsible and who will pay?
Opinion
Opinion: D.C.’s build-build-build mind-set results in more gentrification (Washington Post)
