-
Black businesses are on the rise, but can they keep their momentum?
Diana and Branden Givand, owners of Sauce City (photo courtesy of Branden Givand) Branden Givand spent his pre-pandemic days frying 20 pounds of carnitas out of his 500 square foot apartment in the Washington, D.C neighborhood of Shaw. New to D.C, Givand was running Pelota, a Latin fusion meets D.C catering business that served half smokes and mambo sauce at distilleries, pop up breweries, and to government contractors. Business was good and Givand was gaining the traction he needed to soon open his own neighborhood restaurant – until March 17th when the world shut down due to the Coronavirus pandemic. When funds began to dry up quickly, Givand…
You May Also Like
Black Owned Businesses Take the Hardest Hit
-
The Great Resignation
Adobe Stock Image Today, millions of Americans have taken a leap of faith by quitting their jobs. The coined term ‘great resignation’ refers to the number of Americans who voluntarily left their positions in the last year. Throughout the pandemic, companies laid off workers in droves due to the coronavirus pandemic, leaving millions of Americans unemployed and relying on government assistance, according to the United States Bureau of Statistics. In the latter half of 2021, The United States saw these labor shortages shift for other reasons, such as employees voluntarily leaving their jobs. Though it may seem that millions of Americans have gotten up and left the workforce and…
-
The Green Book
We must not forget that there was a time in United States History when blacks and whites could not patron the same establishments. We know about sit-ins, colored only buses, schools, and even water fountains.. But we rarely discuss what it was a like for black travelers to reach their destinations without risking their lives during the Jim Crow era. For nearly three decades, The Negro Motorist Green Book created by US postal worker, Victor Hugo Green served as a directory for many African Americans traveling across the United States. Describes as a bible to many, “You didn’t leave the house without it.”
-
Working mothers in the Pandemic: A Juggling Act
Working mothers are holding it together by a string. As the novel Coronavirus Pandemic eases up, women look for balance, flexibility and a community. The Pandemic has caused devastation to the economy overall, but working mothers have taken a harder hit over their male counterparts in paid labor. Industries including government, retail, healthcare and the restaurants, all dominated by women, have been heavily impacted by pandemic closures.Take that, and throw in childcare centers closing and schools going virtual, women have been spread thin. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrn-8tbXPH0 Safisha Thomas, owner of Fia’s Fabulous, located in Washington, DC, worried that she was going to have to close her Brick and Mortar thrift store,…
-
A local truck is providing access to food in Ward 8
A mobile grocery store has made its way to South East DC to help eliminate food disparity. Curbside Groceries, created by The Capital Area Food Bank created Curbside Groceries to reach families in Ward 8 who only have one grocery store that serves 80,000 residents. “The Capital Area Food Bank did a survey with over 2,000 residents to ask if there were an alternative grocery store model, would they be willing to patronize it,” said DeJuan Mason, manager of Curbside Groceries. The mobile grocer began in January 2020 and has serviced over 1300 customers since its existence, but Mason says that the truck has become more essential during the pandemic.…
-
Fast Food Companies struggle to find employees
The United States Department of Labor announced 916,000 jobs created in March. This is the most the United States has seen since last August as a result of the Coronavirus Pandemic. While 513,000 manufacturing and constructions positions have increased over the last month, fast food companies are having a hard time finding employees. “I think that many people who lost their jobs are living off of their unemployment check and do not have a real reason to find work,” mentioned Don King, a staffing coach for Taco Bell. While the COVID relief plan has provided many people with stability throughout the pandemic, unemployment benefits have created an incentive for people…
-
Kindergarteners going school for the first time amid the pandemic
-
A year into COVID, how theater is changing maybe forever
The show that must go on is going on in whole new ways. By: Amber Key Atlas Theater boarded up on H Street in Washington, DC At first, the shutdown of live theater came as a shock. Like many, the industry predicted shows would return after one month. Once artists were left to think quick on their feet, extraordinary innovation began to happen. At the beginning of the Coronavirus Pandemic, the entertainment industry was crippled leaving thousands of artists out of work and theaters in survival mode. For live theater, which is predicated on driving people together, staying six feet apart is out of the ordinary. Despite all odds, live…
-
‘I am not your token’
Like many industries, the pandemic opened the eyes for change, especially in the theater industry. Imani Branch, senior musical theater major at Howard University, reflects on her decision to attend an HBCU, her hopes for black storytelling, and how she has adjusted during the pandemic. Imani Branch, senior musical theater major at Howard University sings an original composition for a musical competition. Shot in the bedroom of her students apartment on February 25, 2021 in Hyattsville, Md Hyattsville, Md – Imani Branch remembers growing up in a household where she did not watch television. Instead, her mother wanted to foster her creativity through playing ‘make believe.’ What she didn’t realize,…
- Uncategorized
‘I am not your token’
Like many industries, the pandemic opened the eyes for change, especially in the theater industry. Imani Branch, senior musical theater major at Howard University, speaks toward her decision to attend an HBCU, what her hope is for black storytelling, and how she is adjusting in the pandemic.
