With the world protesting George Floyd’s death, many people have come to realize all of the prevalent injustices in many of America’s systems. There have been figures in various communities working to educate those around them, advocating for things such as police reform, better education around American history, and the support of black businesses.
Many voices, speaking out in support of black businesses in various communities, have received backlash from those that feel a business shouldn’t be supported just because it is black-owned. Yet, that’s not the main reason people are pushing to support black-owned businesses; the reason points to a much larger and deeper-rooted issue.
Not every black business is going to be better than a competitor; however, it’s important to still support them because most of the time, many will not. A study done by the Center For Investigative Reporting states that “African Americans and Latinos were much more likely to be denied conventional mortgage loans than white Americans were, even after controlling for factors like an applicant’s income, the amount of the loan, debt-to-income ratio, type of lender, and even the neighborhood where the property is.” Since people of color are less likely to get business loans, they won’t have as much money to work with. If they happen to get the loan, the small difference in interest rates from their white-business competitors still results in people of color being at a disadvantage (since they will have less money to work with). This is why black businesses need your support.
During the recent economic devastation, larger, white-owned corporations were able to stay afloat, as they had more money to work with than most local, black-owned businesses. Some may think that this is simply because the white-owned corporations worked harder to get to where they are– this is not the case. Since black-owned businesses are at a disadvantage from the start, with studies showing that they are less likely to get business loans, they aren’t able to put as much money into advertising, maintenance, and other things that could make their product as pristine as possible.
Successful black-business owners have to work twice as hard in order to get to the same piece of pie, especially during the pandemic. A report from the National Bureau of Economic Research said COVID-19 forced closure onto 3.3 million small businesses, with 440,000 of them being black-owned. Many of these black businesses were not deemed “essential” and therefore had to close, at least temporarily. SInce black-owned businesses are less likely to get good loans from their banks, it’s harder for them to save as much money, as the sales they make have to go back into their product. With the halt of society due to the virus, many black-owned businesses were not able to keep up with the needed payments. This forced them into permanent closure due to a disadvantage they had from the start.
If you refuse to support black businesses because you want to support good business, not just skin color, that is understandable. The point is that when you do support black businesses, it helps give them at least some of the opportunities they are being deprived of as black-business owners.
If you are unable to support black businesses, there are still ways you can help. Some ways include donating to the Justice for George Floyd Fund, as well as others supporting Black Lives Matter efforts. You can also support the people of color all around you. This includes creatives, blue-collar workers, artists, and everything in between. One of the most important ways you can help is by simply using your voice to speak out against the racial injustices that are present in society.