Is COVID-19 to Blame?
Since the corona virus pandemic has begun, thousands of small, minority owned businesses in the United States have closed. As a matter of fact, the number of Black-owned business owners has fallen over 40% since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. A report from the National Board of Economic Research found “the number of African-American business owners plummeted from 1.1 million in February 2020 to 640,000 in April 2020. The 440,000-owner loss represents 40% of the businesses. Although the United States saw a total drop of 3.3 million (or 22 percent) active business owners, the number of Black-owned businesses was disproportionately high compared to others.
One example of Covid-19 negatively impacting a minority owned businesses is a Chinese restaurant near my house. This restaurant has been open for about 10 years and they were a hit with locals – the food was good and priced right. However, because of Covid-19, the family owned restaurant was forced to close their doors for too long and could not afford to pay their pills. The restaurant, previously known as China Wok, is now closed. The sign and menu they had on their window is no longer up. I, personally, miss this restaurant and hope the family that had owned it will be able to get themselves back on their feet. Until then, I will be missing those famous fruit smoothies with tapioca at the bottom they did so well.
Protests to Blame?
Many small businesses that were just barely scraping by through the coronavirus pandemic were hindered by the riots that erupted from the peaceful protests. Almost immediately after businesses were given the thumbs up to begin reopening, the violence that came out of altercations between protests and police forced many places to put up boards and close their doors while the storm passed.
A study from the Federal Reserve revealed that there was already a 58 percent distress rate for Black-owned businesses. In April 2020, the unemployment rate for Black Americans sat at 16.7 percent while the white unemployment rate sat at 14.2 percent. In May of 2020, the unemployment rate for Black Americans rose to 16.8 percent while the white unemployment rate fell to 12.4 percent.
The inequity seen here is a result of the lack of resources provided to Black communities. Many small businesses could not afford to risk opening up amidst the protests, so they chose to remain closed to avoid conflict. This additional setback, on top of the pressure that Covid-19 was already applying, dug minority businesses into deeper debt. While businesses had to stay closed a bit longer for the protests, I do not think that the uprisings are to blame for businesses to be closed.
Segregation?
Living in an area where the government already has issues putting money into the community can be detrimental for everyone’s health in the time of a pandemic. Underserved communities where the people living there have an issue obtaining healthcare is dangerous when there is a disease that attacks your lungs and nervous system. Starting with banks, it is difficult for Black business owners to get started from the jump – they get approved for loans a rate that 20% less than that of white business owners. This country has a long history of redlining and segregating communities within the fine printof any new laws or policies that are put into action.
Healthcare as a Social Worker in a Covid World
Understanding social work theories is crucial to properly care for any possible clients we will encounter. In a world where things are constantly changing and the needs of people are always just being missed, we need to identity where a client is physically and emotionally. As Farkas and Romianiuk stated in their published article, we need to look at the past and how things have been previously handled before we can accurately help people. One topic I have been hearing a lot about recently is how this will impact peoples’ mental health in the long run. Not only are people already experiencing an extreme and sudden seclusion, it doesn’t help that we started calling it “social” distancing rather than physical distancing. The idea was right, but the connotation of the worlds we are using can be more harmful than anything when everyone is extremely vulnerable.
If a client was a business owner, and was forced to close down for their own safety, then came to find that the business that they had to build from the ground up was destroyed because rioters destroyed what they worked hard for, I can only imagine what their mentality is. Most of my family lives in Puerto Rico, so when I’m hearing about businesses here on the mainland getting destroyed with no means to rebuild, I am immediately thinking of the hundreds of small business owners in Puerto Rico that took their own lives because one of the few good things they had done for themselves was gone.
Coleman, Aaron. 2020. "Study: Covid-19 Lockdowns Hit Black-Owned Small Businesses The Hardest." Vox. Retrieved September 18, 2020 (https://www.vox.com/2020/6/10/21286759/study-covid-19-lockdowns-black-owned-businesses-hardest-recession).
Diseases, Infectious. 2020. "National Association Of Social Workers (NASW)." NASW - National Associacion of Social Workers. Retrieved September 19, 2020 (https://www.socialworkers.org/Practice/Infectious-Diseases/Coronavirus).
Diseases, Infectious, and Helping Populations. 2020. "National Association Of Social Workers (NASW)." NASW - National Associacion of Social Workers. Retrieved September 18, 2020 (https://www.socialworkers.org/Practice/Infectious-Diseases/Coronavirus/Helping-People-in-Special-Populations).
Fairlie, Robert. 2020. "The Impact of COVID-19 on Small Business Owners: Evidence of Early-Stage Losses from the April 2020 current population survey." NBER Working Paper Series (27309).
Farkas, K. J., & Romankski, J. R. (2020). Social work ethics & vulnerable groups in the time of the Coronoavirus and COVID-19. Society Register, 4(2), 67-82. https://doi.org/10.14746/sr.2020.4.2.05
Gilbert, Nedda. 2019. "Noodle." Noodle.com. Retrieved September 21, 2020 (https://www.noodle.com/articles/the-6-social-work-theories-that-inform-social-work-practice#:~:text=Social%20work%20employs%20six%20core,Each%20is%20described%20below.).
Hi Kathryn,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your post about COVID and small, minority owned businesses. I think that it was great that you shared a personal story about a local restaurant that you used to order from. It is extremely sad that these local family owned businesses have begun to permanently close. These restaurants usually rely on in person dining and when some restaurants have had to rely on take out only, a lot of revenue has been lost. My family and I have began to order from local and minority owned businesses since the COVID shutdown. We even began ordering masks from local people in our neighborhood and ordering food from minority owned restaurants.
-Taylor Wise
DeleteHello Kathryn,
ReplyDeleteYou picked an interesting topic . When COVID-19 pandemic began I knew that minorities would be hit harder than other groups since this is usually the case. The statistics you mentioned proved that black owned business were suffering more than white owned businesses. Unfortunately, many Chinese restaurants were impacted by COVID as well. I feel like trumps ignorant comments towards Chinese community added to the negative impact of COVID-19. Hopefully, these business owners are able to get back on their feet
Kathryn,
ReplyDeleteI found your blog super interesting. I feel like there has been some major changes that small businesses have had to work with since Covid hit. I've seen so many businesses struggle and really try to promote themselves during the pandemic because they have really struggled. I think it's essential for people to know how these businesses need help and what we can do as consumers to support them, especially small businesses owned by minorities.
-Tess Boretti
DeleteAwesome job! You cover so many different themes! I had no idea that the White employment rate fell after the start of COVID while the Black employment rate rose. And I know that the Black community is and has long been subjected to discrimination when it comes to anything that has to do with equity building, including qualifying for loans and purchasing homes and such, but I also did not realize that Black business owners were approved for business loans at such a significantly lower rate. This is such a travesty- we literally keep hard-pressed communities in a cycle of disrepair. In addition, I appreciate you mentioning your family in PR. My husband and I also have family in Latin America and were just reading about how many economies there- including many of those that have come a long way and become more stabilized and developed over the years- are now suffering in light of the pandemic. It has set so many communities back. Places like Chile, for example, which are known to be economic powerhouses in Latin America, are really suffering. Jobs are being lost and wages cut, people are going hungry, immigrants find themselves in the same state they found themselves in back in their home countries... it's not a good situation for anyone, and especially not for those who have been subjected to the longstanding impact of colonialism.
ReplyDeleteMelissa Muth Martinez^^
DeleteHi Kathryn,
ReplyDeleteI don't even know where to start. You honestly chose such a strong topic, that has impacted so many individuals, minorities, business owners , families, communities, and our country as a whole. You were able to connect how the pandemic has impacted small businesses but also the mental health of those owners. These last few months have brought on so much anxiety, pain, isolation, and depression to many of our communities, as future social workers we need to make sure that we are looking at how all of that can impact ones health. Something that really stood out to me the most in your post was toward the end when you talk about how society began calling it social distancing, rather than physical distancing. It honestly took me a step back and really made me reflect on how the language that we use could really have an affect on how things are viewed. Social distancing really does have a more negative approach to it compared to just physical distancing. Honestly, this is great work that you did. Thank you for the awareness you were able to get across.
-Ashley Perez ^^
Hi Kathryn,
ReplyDeleteI love this post! I do believe that a lot of small businesses have been impacted by the pandemic. A lot of families own small business. In the community where I raised a lot of families have been impacted, financially, emotionally and These past months has been very difficult to manage our personal lives, work, school, etc. I hope that our visitors to our Blog Website can help other individuals who might be dealing with this. Great post!
Hi Kathryn,
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I feel as a member of community we need to watch out for one another. This is very true for small business, they could use all the support they can get. Helping them will insure that they can keep their business alive, their passion alive, and that they can still be able to support their families as well.
Isaac