The global COVID-19 pandemic has upended the U.S. economy, put 30 million Americans out of work, and brought the entire world to a standstill. Yet, even in light of the mass devastation and disruption caused by the coronavirus, it’s marginalized communities of color that are suffering the most.

According to a research report from McKinsey & Co., African Americans are about 30% more likely to develop a severe illness from COVID-19 compared to white Americans. In addition, black Americans are more likely to be at increased risk for contracting COVID-19, have lower access to testing, experience more severe complications from the infection, and suffer from more secondary effects. In order to protect the black community from the novel virus, activists are calling for racial data transparency related to COVID-19 infections and access to testing.

Last month, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) partnered with Color of Change, the nation’s largest online racial justice organization, and Native Son, a platform for the black gay male community, to demand race-based COVID-19 data. Together, they launched the #WEDEMAND campaign, calling on HHS Secretary Alex Azar to release demographic data on the impact of COVID-19 on disenfranchised communities and testing equity.

In an interview on BLACK ENTERPRISE’S “The New Norm with Selena Hill,” HRC president Alphonso David and Native Son founder Emil Wilbekin argued that racialized data is critical to ensure that marginalized people receive equitable treatment during the pandemic. This information, they said, is needed to combat the bias in our healthcare system and systemic barriers that have put black people at greater risk. These issues include disparities in rates of unemployment and underemployment, incarceration, and access to safe housing and healthcare. The increased risk factor is also compounded by structural disadvantages that make social distancing and other recommended practices more difficult for black Americans.

In addition, the activists noted that the public health crisis will disproportionately impact LGBTQ communities and, particularly, queer people of color. The wide-ranging conversation went on to touch on the similarities between COVID-19 and the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, and the 2020 election.

COVID-19’s Impact on Black America and the Need for Data

There are a number of underlying issues that make marginalized people more vulnerable to being infected and dying from the virus, said Wilbekin. “Some of the issues at hand [include] lack of health care; living in households where there are a lot of people living together, which is very common with black families and black communities with blended families; and a lot of black, brown, and queer people are essential workers who are more prone to be exposed to the virus.”

“Demographic data will highlight the truth,” stated David. “The reason why people don’t want to release the data is that it will reflect the truth. People of color are disproportionately impacted by this virus. It illuminates a legacy of bias in our health care system,” he continued.

COVID’s Impact on LGBTQ Communities

According to a recent study published by the Human Rights Campaign, LGBTQ people are more susceptible to the novel coronavirus.

“The LGBTQ community is more vulnerable to contracting the virus for both economic and health reasons,” said David. “17% lack health care. One in five LGBTQ people have not seen a doctor when they needed to because they couldn’t afford it. One in five LGBTQ people live in poverty.”

On COVID’s Similarity to the HIV/AIDS Epidemic

Wilbekin added that high rates of HIV/AIDS in the black gay community is another factor that puts queer black men at greater risk for contracting the coronavirus.

“Black gay men are infected with HIV/AIDS at much higher levels than any other group,” he said. In fact, before COVID-19 imploded into a global pandemic, “the CDC had predicted that by this year one out of two black gay men would be living with HIV. When you hear numbers like that but nothing has really been done, it gives us pause to think what’s going to happen with the COVID-19 pandemic when communities in the South are being wiped out and there’s no help in sight.”

The media executive, who has spoken publicly about living with HIV, went on to say that COVID-19 is “triggering” for those who lived through the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the ’80s.

“I came of age when the AIDS epidemic had kind of wiped out a whole community of gay men,” he said. “And so a lot of black gay men, who are a certain age who are in their 50s, 60s, and 70s, are very triggered by COVID-19 because there is a lot of people dying, you can’t say goodbye to them, we don’t know what the real reasons are, [and] there’s a lot of shame if you’re positive.”

Plus, neither disease has a vaccine, he added.

On the 2020 Election

Unlike Sean “Diddy” Combs’ charge that black people should hold their vote “hostage” until a presidential candidate proves themselves worthy of the black vote, David said African Americans don’t have a choice but to vote for Joe Biden, the presumed Democratic candidate.

“The Trump administration [is] refusing to really treat people of color as people. Year after year after year, they have issued policies that completely attack marginalized communities, including the LGBTQ community,” he said. “We have an opportunity in six months to change the trajectory of our country. And if we register to vote and we vote, we can actually have a pro-equality president and other pro-equality candidates in office.”

On the Murder of Ahmaud Arbery

The two activists also addressed the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, the 25-year-old black man who was gunned down while jogging in a suburban neighborhood in Georgia.

“I spoke out publicly and I will continue to speak out publicly on this and many other issues of racial justice because we need to confront the systemic racism and bias in our country,” said David. “It is here. We have to look it in the face and we have to confront it. We have to force people to confront the lack of humanity that they have when it comes to certain people of color. And we have to make sure…that people use their voices for change because we cannot continue to live in the way that we have.”

Watch their interview on “The New Norm with Selena Hill” below.

JPMorgan Chase Institute released the first in a series of studies that use real-time data to investigate the financial impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

The first JPMorgan Chase Institute study focuses on the initial household spending response to the coronavirus pandemic. The study used consumer credit card transactions from March 1 – April 11, 2020, to examine the changes in household spending and how it varies by household income and industry of employment.

The first finding the study unearthed was the average household credit card spending amount has fallen by 40% by the end of March when compared to last year. According to the study, spending was stable through the beginning of March, but the coronavirus pandemic hit the job market and as Americans began losing jobs, spending hit a standstill.

The study also found spending on essential products increased by 20% before falling to pre-coronavirus levels. At the same time, spending on non-essentials fell by 50% and account for nearly all of the total spending decline.

The drop in non-essential products can be attributed to states’ non-essential businesses including restaurants, bars, movie theaters, and gyms being forced to close by state and local governments. Additionally, stay-at-home orders prohibited the ability to travel and citizens may have curtailed spending in order to save money or in response to an income loss.

“This is the first time we have an integrated view into how COVID-19 and interventions like stay-at-home orders are impacting families’ spending across income levels,” Diana Farrell, president and CEO, JPMorgan Chase Institute said in a statement. “Across the income spectrum, we see that the large cut in consumer spending through early April was driven primarily by the pandemic and stay-at-home orders and, so far, less so by job loss. While surprising, we expect this may change over time as layoffs, furloughs and unemployment insurance further impact families’ bank accounts.”

The JPMorgan Chase Institute also found spending has dropped significantly for households across all income levels with higher-income households accounting for slightly larger drops in spending. The top income earners have reduced spending by about 46%, or $400, by the second week of April while the bottom income earners reduced spending by 38%, or $150.

The difference in the spending drop can be attributed to higher-income earners having more money to spend on non-essential items. Lower-income earners typically have less money to spend on non-essentials as the majority of money earned goes toward rent and food. That theory is backed up by data showing job losses were four times higher for the lowest-income earners than for the highest-income earners.

A study by the JPMorgan Chase institute in April showed African American and Hispanic families are struggling the most due to the economic ramifications of the pandemic.

It was also reported in March that low-wage workers have a higher rate of being infected. Many low-wage workers are immigrants or minorities that cannot work from home and are forced to interact with strangers.

• News

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

May 15, 2020

Black Delivery Driver Held Against His Will in Gated Community by White Resident

---

In the latest edition of black people being held to a different standard, a black delivery driver was “imprisoned” in a gated Oklahoma City complex by white homeowners, according to ABC News.

For more than an hour, a black delivery driver was trapped in an Oklahoma City gated community earlier this week by a white man who said that he was the president of the local homeowner’s association.

Travis Miller, who is a home appliance and furniture delivery driver, had filmed the encounter on his Facebook Live account while driving through the neighborhood of Ashford Hills.

“I just know that emotionally, it was hard to maintain restraint, especially when I’m dealing with death in the family, two family members within two days of each other,” Miller told KFOR-TV on Wednesday. “I just did the best I could to not make a bad situation worse.”

Miller had been given the code to the gate by the client who ordered the items to be delivered. After completing the delivery, Miller and his colleague were questioned about why they were on that street by a white man, who identified himself as David Stewart and said he was a board member of the homeowners association, as can be seen on the Facebook Live clip of the confrontation.

“Got me blocked in so I can’t leave,” Miller said, referring to Stewart as he blocked them in with his car.

“I want to know where you’re going?” said Stewart, who told Miller that he was driving on a private street.

Miller then says, “It’s none of your business. I’m going out, that’s where I’m going.”

Miller remained seated in his truck and recorded the interaction on Facebook.

“I was gripping the steering wheel, and I made sure I kept my seat belt on,” he told KOCO-TV. “I locked the doors, tried to keep the window up.”

After about 30 minutes, another homeowner joined the man in his inquiry.

“All we want to know is why you’re in here and who gave you the gate code,” the second homeowner said. “That’s all we need to know.”

Miller refused to reveal his client’s personal information.

“I don’t know what prompted him to, or what has happened in that neighborhood, for him to respond the way he did,” Miller said.

“I knew if I get out this truck, no matter what happened, I would have been in the wrong,” he said. “I always say to myself, ‘I’m going to go home to my wife and my kids.’”

Police did not go to the scene because the original caller phoned back and said officers were no longer needed, police Capt. Larry Withrow said.

“If our original caller tells us they no longer need us, unless we have reason to believe there is something wrong or something illegal happening, we cancel the call,” Withrow said.

Miller said Stewart eventually moved his car because his customer arrived at the scene and confirmed that he had just received a delivery.

Tyde-Courtney Edwards, founding director of Ballet After Dark, is a classically trained black ballerina, art model, and survivor of sexual assault who is on a mission to help others heal from their trauma through the art of ballet. Now, during the pandemic, she is helping people unwind and reset their focus on healing virtually as her studio is closed.

Edwards began her journey at the Baltimore School for the Arts and has over 20 years of dance training and experience. She is trained in various styles of dance including classical and contemporary ballet, pointe, modern, lyrical, jazz, tap and hip-hop. And she has trained with esteemed companies such as the  Debbie Allen Dance Academy, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Peabody Conservatory, Joffrey Ballet, Alvin Ailey and other institutions while receiving training from local dance pioneers such as Anton Wilson and Stephanie Powell.

With myriad dance experience, Edwards was inspired to create trauma-informed ballet classes after overcoming an adverse experience of her own. Ballet After Dark is an organization that provides holistic dance therapy to trauma survivors and other disenfranchised individuals.

Their curriculum introduces participants to various elements of self-care while infusing beginner’s ballet and athletic conditioning. Survivors can expect to develop ballet fundamentals such as technique and terminology while being encouraged to heal in an empowering, trauma-informed environment. The program culminates in a showcase performance that highlights ballet technique learned throughout the program.“

Healing Through the Arts

“I conceptualized Ballet After Dark after struggling with recovery following my own sexual assault. I often say the program was born out of necessity. It was a struggle finding welcoming, safe spaces where other black women were working through trauma while struggling to reconnect with their bodies,” said Edwards.

“The reality I was faced with is that the resources did exist—they just seemed to benefit women that didn’t look like me. I wanted to surround myself with my sisters who had the same feelings and questions that I had. I was desperately searching for the space that would gradually let me feel like myself and allow others into my intimate space again,” she added.

While COVID-19 has forced many small black-owned businesses to close, it has opened the virtual doors for Ballet After Dark.

Ballet Amid COVID-19

“I like to think that COVID-19 has forced me to explore my creativity and business savvy on a deeper level. While the most devastating impact of the crisis has been not being able to host in-studio classes and workshops for our survivors and allies, we’ve adapted recognizing that there is still opportunity during this otherwise chaotic time.”

She went on to say that while going digital has been an exciting adjustment that is stretching the company in new ways.

“While challenging, it’s definitely not impossible thanks to platforms like Instagram, Facebook and Zoom. In fact, we’ve been able to conceptualize a way for us to host our first virtual trainer-to-trainer workshop series! Happily, even during this pandemic, we’re still able to create opportunities for more women within our community. It pleases my heart to be able to formally announce that we will be hiring virtual instructors,” Edwards shared.

“The impact virtual classes have had has been extraordinary. We’ve been able to touch and connect with survivors and allies who may have never had an opportunity to experience our curriculum in the studio. We’re planning to roll out our new digital format out at the end of June,” she added.

During quarantine, it is important for people to remain active and engage in activities that promote wellness. Beyond the ‘quarantine 15’, Edwards says the best advice she can offer to others is to be gentle to themselves during quarantine.

“You’re smarter than you think and you’re stronger than you know… if you’re feeling motivated to move or create then do that! Listen to your body and don’t succumb to any pressure in reference to the types and frequencies of activities you should stay engaged in to have a “successful” quarantine. At the root of everything, Ballet After Dark is about healing and self-care and having a transparent realization of what that journey may look like… because it’s going to be different for everyone,” said Edwards.

Streetwear has taken center stage in the fashion world with numerous celebrity figures sporting designs that quickly become instant trends. The Plugged NYC has quickly become one of those brands that captures what true chic street fashion is. You’ve probably seen its signature camouflage pants and other designs ranging from celebrities to fashion influencers from Rihanna, Wiz Khalifa, Drake, and numerous others. Meet Tizita Balemlay.

Designed to fit the versatility of women, Balemlay started her company, Plugged NYC, in 2016 after being influenced through social media while trying to work her way into the fashion industry. “I actually really never envisioned having a clothing brand,” said Balemlay in an interview with BLACK ENTERPRISE. “I really wanted to go into marketing and advertisement for Vogue. I spent [my] early college [years] interning for various magazines in NYC. Social media led me to starting a brand.”

Since the brand’s inception, the Ethiopian designer has since had her fashion featured in Vogue, The Cut, and BuzzFeed all before the age of 25. “My greatest accomplishment with my brand really has been my perseverance and my outreach of A-list clients for such a small company in a short time,” she continued.

The designer has since expanded her brand to open her own independent factory where other emerging designers can also go for their creations. “I was being overcharged at factories, not taken seriously because of my age [or] gender,” she explained. “I really wanted to start my own factory, own workers. When I had the chance to financially it’s the first thing I invested. I wanted to also open it to the public so other designers and creatives can also get their garments made. Our factory Plugged Studios is located in New Jersey.”

Balemlay has accomplished a great deal in her entrepreneurial journey and wants to encourage other aspiring black designers to not conform to the industry and stay true to their authentic selves. “It really important that we push ourselves and our expectations that we have for ourselves as designers…It’s really important independent black designers understand that marketing is truly everything, designing is the easy part,” she said. “Anything is truly possible, especially in [a] generation where social media is so powerful.”

• News

by Derek Major

May 15, 2020

Cleveland’s Only African American Female Firefighter Is Retiring After 30 Years

---

Cleveland’s only African American female firefighter has hung up her jacket after 30 years on the job.

According to The Root, Daphne Tyus retired from the Cleveland Fire Department on Friday. Tyus was one of only three women in the department. Being the only African American woman in the department was a long and difficult road for Tyus.

“When I got that particular accolade, I said ‘I can do this job,’” Tyrus said in an interview. “I could do it because they didn’t think I could.

“Did I cry? Not on the job,” Tyus continued. “Did you cry? Maybe at home. The next day I got up again and did it again.”

Tyus joined the Cleveland Fire Department in 1987, and today it’s still rare to see a woman on the job in the city.

“You’d never seen a female on the job; however, there are many females across the United States as of today,” Tyus told The Root.

Although she has retired, Tyus wants to train female firefighters in order to help a new generation of female and African American firefighters take her place and show others there’s a solid career in being a firefighter.

Tyus has received many honors during her career and was featured with the other two female firefighters in the city, on the cover of Cleveland Magazine in 2018. According to the article, no woman has been hired by the city’s fire department since 1989. Now the other two women on the cover are the only female firefighters in a group of more than 700.

African American men and women have had a hard time becoming firefighters. In 2017, The Daily News reported 63% of the applicants for New York City’s firefighter entrance exam were African American, Latino, or Asian. However, it took a 2014 lawsuit by a group of black firefighters and a settlement which included a federal judge watching the department’s efforts to hire minorities for that to happen. Many white firefighters spoke out against the lawsuit.

• Travel and Leisure

by Dana Givens

May 14, 2020

The USVI Is Looking To Reopen For The Summer Season In June Amid COVID-19

---

Countries around the world have been devastated by the spread of the COVID-19, or novel coronavirus, pandemic. Caribbean nations have had to deal with complications that have arisen from the public health crisis. Despite low death rates and many patients seeing full recoveries in countries like St. Lucia and Barbados, many of these island nations have been hit hard economically due to the massive loss of revenue from the tourism sector.

While the U.S Virgin Islands has seen most patients see a full recovery and an extremely low death, the tourism market, which accounts for 60% of the islands’ GDP, has taken a huge loss. Prior to the shutdown in March, the tourism sector was seeing a significant increase in hotel occupancy and cruise line bookings.

“The fallout has] been tremendous,” says Commissioner Joseph Boschulte in an interview with BLACK ENTERPRISE. “It was difficult to truly gauge the economic impact because everybody was home and everything was closed, so you know you can’t really see how things are happening.” The commissioner went on to say that they are seeing more of the direct impact of the coronavirus this month from mandatory closings.

Most of the residents on the island have only just started receiving their stimulus checks this week, which Boschulte hopes will be injected back into the local economy. He went on to explain how the islands are preparing hotels and tourism vendors to welcome tourists again under new restrictions to prevent the spread of the virus. As of right now, American and Delta Airlines are still continuing their routes from the states amid the pandemic but only citizens, airlines, and medical professionals are allowed entry; leisure travel has been shut down.

When asked about the recent news about Carnival Cruises seeing a 600% increase in bookings for August, Boschulte is confident that the island will be able to welcome them but will probably be denied through the CDC. “I believe that we will be prepared to accept cruises back in the territory. We are still working at our department of health and with the cruise lines directly in understanding protocols to test for COVID-19. Along with that we are still [gathering the] necessary inventory of testing supplies here on the island for people who may be in contact with people who may have the infection,” he said. “The concern I have as a tourism head is [that] we have to be able to protect or at least try to have [some protocol] in place to protect layers of people who may be impacted by travelers.”

As for the rest of the travel market, Boschulte says there are already plans in motion to reopen the islands for June just in time for the summer season—but not without restrictions. “Clearly for us, like most of our brethren in the Caribbean, the safety of our residents is paramount,” he explained. “We have done an excellent job under the leadership of our governor in flattening in the curve here in the territory … right now we have somewhere around 20 properties that are already open and prepared to take visitors based on the conditions today but the other hotels are preparing for a June 1 open date.”

• News

by Derek Major

May 14, 2020

USPS Deputy Postmaster General Resigns After More Than 40 Years In Public Service

---

The United States Postal Service (USPS) found its replacement for the Postmaster General position. Now, it has to find a replacement for its second-in-command.

According to Federal News Network, Deputy Postmaster General Ronald Stroman will leave his post after nine years at the USPS. Stroman, who has more than 40 years of experience in the federal government, notified the chairman of the USPS Board of Governors of his decision last Friday.

Stroman’s announcement came days after the board announced Louis DeJoy as its pick for postmaster general. The week before, former USPS Inspector General and Vice President of the board, David Williams, announced his resignation.

Storman’s resignation means the USPS board will no longer have enough members to reach a quorum. However, in the event that happens, the board can delegate authority to a temporary emergency committee. That will allow the four remaining Senate-confirmed governors and the postmaster general to engage in all of the board’s normal decision-making.

“At least until there’s a successor named, or until there are more governors confirmed by the Senate, the Postal Service’s Board of Governors should be able to operate as normal,” Mike Plunkett, the president and CEO of the Association for Postal Commerce, told Federal News Network.

The board will choose a new deputy general based on a majority vote from the four remaining Senate-confirmed governors and DeJoy.

“It is likely that Louis DeJoy wants his own number-two in there. In fact, he may already have someone in mind,” Steidler told Federal News Network. “The Board is likely to go with who DeJoy wants as they will be working together closely, day-to-day.”

During his time as the deputy postmaster general, Stroman led government affairs and international mail issues for the USPS and worked with state and local officials to oversee the expansion of vote by mail. Before joining the USPS, Stroman served as the staff director for the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

“Ron [Stroman] has led our communications and relationship-building with the Congress and among agencies at the federal, state, and local level, as well as efforts to educate postal stakeholders as we developed a framework for postal reform legislation,” Postmaster General Megan Brennan wrote in a memo to industry on Wednesday.

The USPS is currently dealing with significant budget issues. In March, Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and Gerry Connolly (D-VA) said the agency will run out of money by June.

Last week, 83 House Members sent a letter to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy demanding “the strongest possible relief for the United States Postal Service in the next round of COVID-19 relief legislation.”

Featuring a broad cross-section of women who have distinguished themselves across a rich variety of careers, our Portraits of Power series is a celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Black Enterprise, and of black women. It’s a place for today’s businesswomen to share their own favorite images and their own stories, in their own words. Today’s portrait is tech veteran Janeen Uzzell, who spent 15 years at GE before becoming the COO of the Wikimedia Foundation, home to Wikipedia.

Janeen Uzzell

Chief Operating Officer, Wikimedia Foundation

Nickname “J”

My first job was as a supervisor in a manufacturing plant for Johnson and Johnson. I supervised a team of workers on the factory floor, manufacturing surgical-grade needles and sutures.

My big break came when in my late 20s, I worked for a man named Glen MacArthur at a telecommunications company called Telcordia. Glen was the first one to recognize my affinity for leadership and encourage me to get an M.B.A. instead of a masters in engineering as I had originally planned. I got my M.B.A. while working full time, and he supported me through every step of the process. When I shared my excitement about a case study about GE in my last semester, he pushed me to apply to GE. That decision was one of the best I’ve ever made. It shaped my entire career, all thanks to Glen, who has continued to be my friend and mentor to this day.

I never imagined I would see as much of the world as I have.

I wish I’d learned sooner that my unique talents and skills are valuable. Early on, I had a mentor tell me, “Even if you are amazing in your career, there are two things the world will expect from you as a leader, and you’ll never be able to give it to them. You’re never going to be white, and you’re never going to be a man. So you need to focus on the other amazing traits you bring to everywhere you work.” I didn’t realize how accurate he was until many years later, when I finally stopped trying to meet expectations others had and instead focused on my own value.

The risk I regret not taking is not standing up sooner for myself and others with #MeToo issues that I’ve seen throughout my career.

If I could design my fantasy self-care day, it would actually start with an intense workout—a bootcamp and a personal training session with my favorite trainer and my workout crew. Then I’d go to brunch with my friends, to talk and share and learn. The rest of the day I would spend at the beach, with my amazing beach setup and a good book.

What keeps me up at night is how in the tech industry, the teams working on solving the big issues are not diverse and not representative. Trends like AI, facial recognition technology, and fake news are already influencing our daily lives. Yet there’s a startling lack of diverse teams involved in the solutions. The implications of this lack of diversity are bad for everyone, but for people of color, the outcomes can be deadly.

When I’m struggling, I speak words of faith to myself. I also keep a list of affirmations that remind me of who I am, so that that person shows up. I call it the “Book of Janeen.”

I am unapologetically a person who comes in peace but means business. Just because I come with tenderheartedness and caring and kindness, I don’t want people to overlook the strength I bring to important issues.

Portraits of Power is a yearlong series of candid insights from exceptional women leaders. It is brought to you by ADP.

• News

by Derek Major

May 14, 2020

Sens. Cory Booker, Ben Cardin Release Plan To Help Underserved & Underbanked Small Businesses

---

Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) have released a proposal to prevent underserved and small businesses from falling further behind during and after the coronavirus economic crisis.

The proposal described minorities, women, and those in rural areas as key drivers of job and productivity growth. However, those small businesses are also the least likely to survive the unprecedented economic hardships the coronavirus pandemic has brought.

“Failing to help these vulnerable small businesses runs the risk of extending this economic crisis while also limiting our economy’s ability to recover after we defeat COVID-19,” the proposal states.

The proposal calls for mandatory daily and weekly reporting on the total number and dollar amounts of loans or grants approved and disbursed through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). This includes the Emergency Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Grants Program and the EIDL Program as well as the amount of remaining funding in each program.

Additionally, the proposal would create a threshold for Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and other mission-based, non-profit lenders still seeking approval to lend under PPP. The proposal will also set aside $10 billion for CDFIs with a proven record of reaching underserved borrowers and Minority Depository Institutions, or MDIs, to support loans to underserved small businesses.

Minorities, particularly African and Hispanic Americans are struggling to overcome the economic turmoil brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. African and Hispanic business owners have an added burden when considering their businesses’ financial future along with their personal finances.

Booker and Cardin have also made it a priority to help businesses owners who’ve had past legal issues. The proposal will allow businesses owned by individuals with felony convictions or who are on parole or probation access to PPP funds. Employers will also be given flexibility in choosing when to deploy PPP funds and to hire back their employees.

African American and minority businesses owners have expressed their frustrations in applying for PPP loans.

According to a national survey of 50 small businesses on PPP loans conducted by Creative Investment Research, out of the 60% of respondents who applied for the program, 33% got some level of funding. For the EIDL Program, of the 72% of the survey respondents who applied, 28% got some level of funding.

The senators’ proposal has been endorsed by National Urban League, National Action Network (NAN), Main Street Alliance, Small Business Majority, and the Black Economic Alliance.