Facebook has taken steps to support African American communities across the US, in recognition of the disproportionate impact that the crisis is having on them, including making a $1m donation to the BET COVID-19 Relief Fund and earmarking grants for minority, women, and veteran-owned businesses.
Recent reports show that COVID-19 is infecting and killing African Americans at disproportionately high rates; this is due to existing racial disparities in health, resources, and access to medical care.
Maxine Williams, global chief diversity officer at Facebook, told Black Enterprise: “What we do as a business is deeply connected to the people who we support. And when you see people suffering, and you know you can [do something], you do.”
Facebook has pledged fifty percent of its small business grants to those owned by women, minorities and veterans, which will amount to around $20m going to approximately 5,000 eligible businesses.
The company also worked with BET News last week on BET News and Facebook Present: COVID-19: Black America’s Fight, a news special that addressed the disparate effects of COVID-19 on black communities.
Williams continued: “That partnership is a really important partnership to us because we want people to have the right information to be able to do the best that they can do in this situation. It was really important to get practical, useful information from sources that they trust from people who look like them. We had all of these experts – whether they were health or economic experts–who were people of colour.”
In addition, Facebook is empowering people during the pandemic by giving support to their employees of colour, including a stipend to help them to work from home more comfortably and efficiently, offering extended leave options and temporarily suspending performance reports.
“D&I is built into everything we’re doing,” said Williams. “We’re very cognizant of the fact that our black and brown people will probably have – certainly in America – the most grief, the most funerals, the most support that they have to give both for themselves and for others. And that is something that we took very seriously as we thought about how we operate in this new space.
“We’re trying our best right now to recognize the personal toll COVID-19 is taking on everybody. We’re giving everybody the opportunity to thrive. That’s what inclusion is – it is opportunity with dignity.”
Click here for some links to funding for minority-owned business owners
We are always keen to share information about how to support Black-owned businesses. Take a look at this helpful resource, which signposts to a range of excellent Black-owned stores and sites.
