USA TODAY International Edition
Small businesses can work to be community allies
America must be fair and just. As business owners, our voices have weight.
Right now, you’re probably just trying to ensure that your small business survives the impact of COVID- 19. But America is at a turning point and your voice matters. Small business owners are some of the most respected members of their communities. What you say and what you do is important. On Memorial Day, yet another unarmed African- American was killed at the hands of police. Watching the video of the death of George Floyd is heartwrenching. But it’s just the latest in a string of police killings of unarmed black victims. People of color, especially those who are black, literally risk their lives just walking down the street. The death of George Floyd has made it all too obvious that America is a country where an unarmed person of color can be killed by a person in authority for the smallest reason, or no reason at all. That is the definition of a police state. Peaceful protesters have taken to America’s streets to demand justice. Others have used this moment to vent their anger, turning to destruction and looting. All too often, it is small businesses that are the victims of such destruction. That makes us angry and afraid. But boarding up the windows of your small business, or getting a security camera, or even getting a gun won’t make you safe. More police won’t make you safe, either. The only solution to injustice is justice. Here are things you need to know: Police killed 1,000 Americans in 2019, three a day. In comparison, in 24 years, British police only killed 55 people; German police only killed 15 people in 2010 and 2011 combined. Killing is often the first, not the last, resort in American policing. Blacks were 24% of those killed in America, though they are only 13% of the population. Over the last three decades, spending on prisons and jails has grown three times faster than spending on K- 12 education. California, like many states, spends six times as much on a prisoner than on a student – $ 64,642 per inmate vs. $ 11,495 per student. Income inequality is great and growing. In 2016, upper- income families had 75 times as much wealth as lower- income families. In 1983, they only had 28 times more. We must change American priorities, culture and attitudes. What can we – you and I – do? 1. Contact elected officials. Demand a change in our spending priorities: more money for education, housing, health care; fewer resources for police and prisons. 2. Demand accountability. Call for those who abuse power – including and especially the police – to be held accountable for their actions. 3. Call on police officers of good will to speak up and insist the culture of policing in America be de- militarized. Let’s have police who are once again public servants instead of public threats. 4. Be careful before calling the police on a person of color for a minor crime. 5. Talk to your children, and to your friends and family members. Let them know that while we may want a colorblind society, it doesn’t exist and people of color are treated differently in every aspect of life. 6. Pay a living wage. Create jobs that pay enough so that your employees can go home to their families at night. 7. Make common cause with entrepreneurs of color to demand a change in priorities and justice. Mentor a young person of color to help them become an entrepreneur as well. 8. Vote. Be sure to register. This November, your vote can help change the tone and direction of America. Americans like to think we’re the greatest country in the world. But America is not great if it is only great for some. For America to be great, America must be fair and just. As small business owners, our voices have weight. We must demand accountability for those who abuse power. We must work for equal opportunity for all. And in November, all of us must vote— vote for leadership that works for a just and fair America, an America that works for everyone. Your voice matters. # BlackLivesMatter