According to a new poll conducted by Main Street Alliance and Color of Change, more than half of Black-owned businesses will be forced to close their doors by April 2021 without federal aid.
Of the 600 entrepreneurs polled, only 40% of Black respondents said they could last more than six months without aid, compared with 46% of Asian respondents, 48% of Latinx and 55% of white respondents.
The disappearance of small businesses would devastate Black communities nationwide, said Color of Change.
“The devastating consequences of these closures will ripple throughout Black communities and last for generations,” Color of Change President Rashad Robinson said in a statement. “Our federal government can no longer wait to bring immediate, accessible relief to Black small businesses.”
According to lending experts and business owners, flaws in the Paycheck Protection Program prevented minority- and women-owned small businesses from securing federal coronavirus relief. And of those Black-owned businesses that received federal aid, much less money was given than they applied for.
At the beginning of February, there were more than one million Black-owned businesses in the U.S. By mid-April, that number plummeted by 41%, as 440,000 Black businesses closed permanently.
MORE ON THE PANDEMIC
In a review written by doctors for the American College of Cardiology report that long-term heart damage is likely in some survivors of the coronavirus.
The virus “affects blood clotting, damages the lungs and their ability to process fresh oxygen into the blood,” doctors wrote.
A separate study in the same journal found that patients with excess body fat, uncontrolled blood sugar, high blood pressure and high cholesterol have much higher risks of complications from coronavirus.
At a conference earlier this week, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said that anyone who wants to get a Covid-19 vaccine will be able to do so by March or early April 2021.
Azar’s announcement comes as many Americans continue to cast doubt on the safety of a coronavirus vaccine. On Monday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced an 11-member task force of health experts will independently review the safety of any FDA-approved Covid-19 vaccine before it is distributed in the state.
As the economic fallout from the pandemic continues, more than six million households failed to make their rent or mortgage payments in September, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Research Institute for Housing America. Also, in September, roughly 26 million people missed their student loan payment.
The Fair Isacc Corporation, known is FICO, reports that the average consumer credit score has gone up during the pandemic. The average credit score now stands at 711, a full five points higher than a year ago.
The FICO score is widely used by banks and lenders to determine a consumer’s credit risk.
For families that weren’t as hard-hit as others, the pandemic brought credit relief by allowing them to pay off their debts faster using all or a portion of stimulus checks and take advantage of low interest rates that made way for home refinancing to lower monthly payments.
In addition, coronavirus relief legislation has helped consumers stay current with their creditors, improving their credit scores.
