The Mercury News, June 17, 2020: Oakland to get $1 million to help Black, Latinx and women-owned businesses
With the U.S. officially in recession and COVID-19 disproportionately affecting people of color, Black and Latinx business owners in Oakland could receive a much-needed financial boost. The Rockefeller Foundation on Tuesday announced it is donating $10 million to improve financial access for minority and women-owned businesses and fight commercial gentrification in 10 cities, including Oakland.
“As the market changes, [people of color] often get pushed out. We wanted to make sure that they not only get to stay, but that they thrive,” said Otis Rolley, senior vice president of Equity and Economic Opportunity, the New York-based foundation’s only branch focused solely on the U.S.
