Millions of Americans have answered the call to support small businesses in the wake of pandemic-related unprecedented closings, delayed shipping, and discouragement of in-person shopping and dining. Black-owned small businesses were hit particularly hard, but this isn't the first time they've experienced stacked odds when it comes to entrepreneurial endeavors.

The systemic racial wealth gap doesn't only describe the heavily mismatched salaries between Black employees and their white counterparts, or the huge disparity in family wealth that comes from centuries of oppression. It also refers to the disproportionate difficulties the Black community faces when it comes receiving loans needed to cover anything from marketing consultations to production costs. A 2017 report from the US Federal Reserve found that Black-owned firms are twice as likely to be turned down for a loan compared to white-owned firms. Read more...

Asia Hall got the idea for Neon Cowboys at the Stagecoach Music Festival in Indio, California one year. Each time she'd attended the festival prior to that moment, Hall had reveled in watching the Coachella and country music kids come together around something they loved, welcoming each other with open arms. Hall wanted to make something for them that was unique; something that would stand out and signal the beginning of a more inclusive country music culture. 

So, she got some neon wire and some cowboy hats, and made 13 prototypes for what would eventually become the wildly popular light-up cowboy hats that have taken the internet by storm. She and some friends wore the prototypes to Stagecoach the following year and got an enormous amount of attention; that’s when Hall knew she was onto something. “Because I'm also a minority, it was one of those things where I was like, I really wanted to embrace the reality that I was going to inevitably stand out [in the country music scene],” she says.  Read more...

Augment Bionics is a startup by students and alumni from the University of Edinburgh, which specializes in 3D printing affordable prosthetics. 

In response to national shortages of protective equipment in the UK, the startup is making thousands of face shields for medical staff on the coronavirus frontline.

Augment Bionics have set up a GoFundMe page so that they can continue to make and distribute face shields in the long run. Read more...

Bookstores are more than just places to buy books. They're community spaces, where customers go to browse, talk, and eat. It's how they've survived Amazon's discounted prices and fast shipping. But now, with the coronavirus forcing people to stay in their homes, it could cause them to go out of business. 

Independent bookstore Third Place Books has three locations in a 10-mile radius of Amazon’s headquarters in Seattle. Managing partner Robert Sindelar said he didn’t know if he’d have to close the stores temporarily after the governor's recent order to shut down restaurants, bars, and recreational spaces.  Read more...