At the Intersection of COVID-19 and Diversity

Crisis affects every community differently, and COVID-19 is no different. One’s experience of the crisis will look completely different from another’s. We can all be mindful of this as we look to support those around us during this trying time.

COVID-19 Infections in Diverse Communities:

The COVID Racial Data Tracker: This project began when Ibram X. Kendi, the executive director of the Antiracist Research & Policy Center, wrote a series of essays in The Atlantic about the urgent need to gather demographic information to understand the outbreak and protect vulnerable communities. The federal government’s failure to assemble this data has left it to others to produce this resource for journalists, researchers, advocates, and the public.  

Resources for bookstore owners and staff:

• Tolerance.org: Responding to COVID-19 Racism
• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: Pandemic Preparedness in the Workplace and the Americans with Disabilities Act
• Portland Community College: Equity and Inclusivity in the Remote Workplace
• Small Business Majority Spanish-language Webinars
• Therapy for Black Girls
• BEAM Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective
• Depressed While Black
• Melanin & Mental Health
• Pepperdine University: Confronting Prejudice: How to Protect Yourself and Help Others

Voices on COVID-19 and Diverse Communities:

• Catapult: By Us, for Us: Why WOC-Owned Bookstores Must Survive (from ABA Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee member Angela Maria Spring of Duende District Bookstore)
• Forbes: How Diversity Heads Are Steering Their Companies Through The COVID-19 Crisis
• NewsOne: How Coronavirus Affects Black People: Civil Rights Groups Call Out Racial Health Disparities
• NBC News: For many cautious African Americans, the move to reopen America is not a ‘black friendly’ campaign
• The Atlantic: Why Don’t We Know Who the Coronavirus Victims Are?
• The Atlantic: We’re Still Living and Dying in the Slaveholders’ Republic
• Washington Post: The pathology of American racism is making the pathology of the coronavirus worse
• The Guardian: Disabled People Cut Off From Vital Supplies Due to Panic Buying
• DisabilityScoop: Coronavirus Brings Added Worries for People With Disabilities
• ABC News: Trader Joe’s assistant manager helps deaf cashier amid coronavirus
• Tampa Bay Times: The Struggle to Find Information on Coronavirus Is Even Harder in Spanish
• PR Week: The coronavirus crisis exaggerates existing inequalities, making diversity and inclusion even more essential

Financial assistance opportunities for diverse business owners:

• Red Backpack Fund: Each month, $5,000 grants are distributed to women-owned small businesses.
• Amber Grant Foundation: Offers $4,000 grants to one women-owned business each month. 
• GrantsforWomen.org: A database of grant opportunities for women. While there are grants available for business purposes, not all grants are for businesses.
• The Doonie Fund: The social start up digitalundivided is providing relief for those impacted by COVID-19, specifically for Black female entrepreneurs who have experienced hardships as a result of COVID-19.
• The Your Friends in New York Business Relief Fund: Men’s and women’s fashion label Pyer Moss established a relief fund for women and minority businesses negatively impacted by COVID-19.
• Hello Alice Business for All Emergency Grant: Hello Alice has designated a portion of its $10,000 emergency grants exclusively for Hispanic business owners.
• Moms as Entrepreneurs: The Moms Give Life, Moms Give Community Fund is designed to help support those who have been shut out of government loans or other funding during the Covid-19 pandemic. Grants of $500-$1,000 will be given to mom-owned businesses in all industries.
• Stronger Together Fund: The Mom Project has committed $500,000 to fund the employment of moms during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Women’s Business Centers: Contact your local center for opportunities.
• Minority Business Development Agency Business Centers: Contact your local center for opportunities.
• Community Development Financial Institutions: Contact your local center for opportunities.
• Grants.gov: A database of federally sponsored grants. Some grant options specifically target small businesses.
• Institute for Local Self-Reliance: State and local COVID-19 assistance programs
• Bookselling This Week: Additional Loan and Grant Options Available for Small Businesses

For more assistance:

Contact any member of ABA’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee or reach out to ABA if there are ways we can help. In addition, remember to take care of yourself and others; read through these mental health strategies and tips.