On Thursday, Facebook launched a $40 million grant program for Black-owned enterprises hit by the coronavirus pandemic.
It was the part of the company’s broader initiative to help Black communities that it announced in June.
The business is going to give 10,000 grants of up to 50 workers to Black businessmen. Individuals able to qualify can apply online. The deadline for submissions is August 31.
Like other businesses, Facebook responded to a global uproar this summer about the George Floyd tragedy by extending some of its community outreach programs.
The Black Business Grant program for the social media company is part of the $100 million commitment in June. It aimed to help black communities across the country.
Facebook said the motivation of the program was from both staffs. And also, people applying for its $40 million Small Business Grants Program. It seeks to help small business owners of all races get through the pandemic.
Small Business Owners Have Struggled
Virtually all small business owners have struggled since state and local governments ordered nonessential operations to close in March to try to contain the spread of coronavirus. But the shutdowns had a disproportionate impact on small business owners of color, studies have shown.
And Black small business owners have been hit hardest.
The New York Federal Reserve published a report earlier this month showing that between February and April 41 percent of Black-owned companies around the country had shut down. Over the same time, just 17 percent of White-owned companies shut down.
The Fed’s results are backed by a report published in June. The publisher was from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
The controversy grew after Facebook chose not to take action on a series of racially charged posts made by President Donald Trump. It included one that said “looting” during the racial justice protests that erupted after the case of George Floyd who lead to “shooting.”
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