When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the U.S., Black Americans were the first to be fired and the last to be rehired when the recovery began.
That led many Black Americans to take their careers into their own hands and start their own businesses. According to the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), Black-owned businesses in America are growing and thriving, in large part due to Black women.
A working paper by the NBER found ZIP codes across the country that included a higher proportion of Black residents, especially those in higher median income Black neighborhoods, had higher growth in startup formation rates.