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10:39 am UTC May. 23, 2021 For 25 years, Cynthia Muhammad has been publisher of the Erie Metropolitan Black Yellow Pages, an advertising publication that promotes Black-owned businesses. The volume is often too thin to suit her. It's not the lack of advertising revenue that she laments. Muhammad, 73, said she's troubled by the relatively small number of Black-owned businesses in the Erie area. In fact, in summer 2020 Erie Arts & Culture and Erie's Black Wall Street joined forces to compile a list of Black-owned businesses. In a county with about 5,000 businesses — that's according to the Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership — just 92 of them had at least one Black owner, according to the list.
Dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic has been a 10-month battle of challenges and obstacles for Erie-region small-business owners. African-American business owners in Erie have felt the effects of the pandemic, and some are relying on promotions, gift-giving options and creative ways to entice customers and generate revenue during the Christmas season. For owners whose businesses have remained closed during the pandemic, they are hopeful of reopening during the holidays, perhaps attaining some relief with a late-year economic shot in the arm. Faced with surging COVID-19 cases regionally and nationally, many minority entrepreneurs are hoping to salvage a Christmas shopping season that continues to be significantly affected by additional state and COVID-19 mitigation restrictions.