To weather coronavirus, Black and brown-owned businesses show grit and determination
Updated Mar 08, 2021;
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Without a doubt, the data points to the sobering fact that Black and brown-owned businesses have taken a disproportionate hit from the coronavirus.
In the past year, more minority-owned businesses have gone under or drastically reduced their staff and hours. A survey by H&R Block released in February found more than half of Black small businesses owners said their revenue fell by at least 50% (by comparison, 37% of white small business owners responded similarly).
But the narrative is not wholly one of despair and devastation. For some Black and brown business owners, the protracted coronavirus pandemic has forced them to tap the grit and determination that many of them say has been a perennial prerequisite for their demographic to survive in the business world.
WHYY
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Members of the Personal Touch crew undergo a training at the Workplace Hub in Harrisburg, Pa. (courtesy of Shariah Brown)
Shariah Brown is used to skeptical looks when she shows up to bid on construction clean-up projects for her Harrisburg-based cleaning company, Personal Touch Cleaning Service.
She’s often the only woman and only person of color at the table.
“My job is to try and go in and convince construction companies that I, a brown woman, can do the job as well, if not better than, another individual in the industry,” said Brown, 50. “It is always an uphill battle.”