fbpx

Just 12 Percent Of Black-Owned Businesses Got PPP Loans. Many Survey Respondent Say They Plan To Close Down

Just 12 Percent Of Black-Owned Businesses Got PPP Loans. Many Survey Respondent Say They Plan To Close Down

Black Businesses
Results from a new survey show that only 12 percent of Latino and Black-owned businesses received the coronavirus relief loans they applied for. Sogho Express African Hair Braiding salon is closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, Tuesday, April 7, 2020 in the Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhood of New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

The Paycheck Protection Program’s (PPP) minimal funding of Black-owned businesses is showing, as with most things in America, covid-19 relief is not created equal.

Results from a new survey show that only 12 percent of Black and Latino business owners received the coronavirus relief loans they applied for, reported the New YorkTimes.

In interviews with 500 business owners and 1,200 employees, almost two-thirds said they tried to get loans under 50,000, the report said. Since most of them were denied they told Salon they are going to have to lay off employees and/or close altogether permanently.

Another 26 percent told The Times they only got a smidgen of the funds they asked for. The survey was commissioned by Color Of Change and UnidosUS, both of which advocate for equal rights.

“If we don’t get policies to protect these communities, we will lose a generation of black and brown businesses, which will have deep impacts on our entire country’s economy,” Rashad Robinson, the president of Color of Change, told The Times.

Listen to GHOGH with Jamarlin Martin | Episode 71: Jamarlin Martin

Jamarlin Martin discusses how J. Edgar Hoover’s goal to water down and neutralize strong Black politics involved informants and agents trading money and status for the water-down.

A separate survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau showed three-quarters of overall respondents applied for loans and 38 percent received one.

For many Black and Latino business owners, PPP was the first time they ever applied for a bank loan. The situation underscores the historically discriminate relationship Black-owned businesses and their Latino peers have with big banks.

It also validates cynicism expressed early on by Black business owners that they would not receive any help under PPP and the government’s other relief programs after the program’s botched rollout.

“They’re going to give these loans to the businesses they typically give these loans to. It is not for mom and pop businesses at all,” healthcare business owner Vanaya Bredy told Moguldom at the time.

Sadly, it seems her assessment was correct.