The Moment and The Movement: Forming a Black Business Support Collective in the Wake of George Floyd
In 2020, amid social unrest in the U.S. after the murder of George Floyd, U.S.
companies pledged billions to combat racial justice and invest in Black-owned
businesses. In the weeks and months following the killing in Minneapolis and St. Paul,
MN (affectionately known as the Twin Cities), which galvanized millions across the
world, Black businesses struggled during the 2020 pandemic and aftermath of Floyd’s
death. A group of Black entrepreneurial ecosystem builders came together and formed
the Black Business Support Collective of MN (the BBSC) to address the myriad
challenges facing Minnesota’s Black business community as a result of the COVID-19
pandemic and exacerbated by police brutality and systemic racism in the African
American community.
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