From the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic to the uprisings following the murder of George Floyd, we knew our Black-, brown-, Indigenous- and immigrant-owned businesses faced catastrophic losses that could devastate the culture, wealth and economic vitality of our communities. We also knew that the employers and entrepreneurs who most needed relief funds would not have access or eligibility without significant changes to how those resources were distributed.
So, over the past year, the Business Resource Collective has convened and united more than 20 cultural and place-based business associations, BIPOC-led community organizations, chambers of commerce and arts organizations to ensure that state leaders create intentional policies and priorities that address rather than increase the racial economic disparities in our state.
We have come to the table with specific solutions. We have met with state leaders at the highest level who have shared their support — but have not translated that talk into action. As the governor, lawmakers and agency leaders negotiate the final budget and bills from the legislative session, it is imperative that they follow through on their commitments to racial equity and include explicit provisions to support and nurture BIPOC businesses.
The need for a targeted approach couldn't be more clear. A survey of Black businesses in Minnesota conducted by the African American Leadership Forum in late 2020 found that 62% of businesses had experienced reductions in their revenue and 40% were struggling to pay their bills. In March 2021, a research report from the New York Federal Reserve and AARP found that 90% of Asian American-owned businesses had seen a 60% reduction in sales. And according to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, 1 in 3 people of color in the state's labor force have applied for unemployment during the pandemic — far higher than the percentage of white workers.
Given these losses in business revenue and catastrophic unemployment, our partners have seen requests triple over the last year for technical assistance for both accessing relief resources and starting new businesses and microenterprises.
Our collective has shown that the engagement and funding of community-based and culturally specific partners to create a supportive ecosystem is essential. For instance, working with Hennepin and Ramsey counties to improve their business relief programs' reach, we helped ensure that more than 50% of applicants were from BIPOC business owners. In comparison, 90% of small businesses in both counties are white-owned.
We need to see that same collaboration and intentionality at the state level.
We saw it in the governor's budget priorities presented in February, which included relief carve-outs for businesses with fewer than six employees, for "minority"-owned businesses and for ethnic malls, as well as $3 million per year in new supports for small businesses especially hard-hit by COVID-19. Those critical priorities must be reinstated.