Americans are once again forced to reckon with systemic inequality at the intersection of race and crime. Protests, riots, looting, and violence following the deaths of Black Americans at the hands of police and vigilantes have gripped the nation.
Racism and violence have no place in our society; for all lives to matter, Black lives have to matter too. Among other injustices, we see a disproportionate number of interactions – many unnecessarily fatal – between police and Black Americans, and Black-owned businesses disproportionately struggling in the pandemic because they often don’t have access to the same resources as white-owned businesses. Main Street Relief wants to help close that resource gap. This absolutely does not diminish the struggles across all businesses during these tough times; we help all businesses in need. But we want those owned by Black entrepreneurs and people of color to know we have their back.
While we search for answers and justice, many businesses have fallen into the crosshairs of the unrest we’re all experiencing and witnessing. Whether you’re outside protesting, operating or supporting a business, or watching it all play out, we hope you are safe. Providing support for small businesses affected by the protests and violence is core to Main Street Relief’s mission of helping small businesses through difficult times.
Reach out to a Black-owned business in your community and/or visit this resource to find and support Black-owned businesses.
Main Street Relief is a nonprofit volunteer network helping small businesses respond to and recover from economic crises like COVID-19. Volunteers help small business owners with guidance on financial relief and business operations during free, one-on-one support sessions.
Main Street Relief is committed to serving small business owners regardless of culture, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, appearance — or any other factor. We make every effort to offer culturally and linguistically competent services and are committed to realizing economic justice for business owners from underrepresented communities.
