通过依靠社区的支持和信仰以及争取代表权，三个黑人企业主展示了如何在逆境中生存。
一会儿许多企业由于新冠肺炎疫情，这三个业主被迫永久关闭了大门，实际上，他们在疫情期间打开了业务——并见证了业务的增长。
“我本打算在3月份开业，以庆祝我妈妈的生日，但由于流行病而推迟了开业，”德克萨斯州德索托市林恩美容商店的罗德西亚·斯科特说。
斯科特说，她决定在6月10日周末举行盛大的开幕式，这是一个庆祝奴隶制结束的节日，因为这个活动在德克萨斯州广为庆祝。
在北卡罗来纳州夏洛特市一个历史悠久的黑人社区的中心，坐落着一家点唱机店利亚和路易斯。就在几天前，这家受南方启发的餐厅于3月开业北卡罗来纳州州长罗伊·库珀宣布所有室内餐厅将关闭，只允许外卖或外卖。
“我们非常专注于开餐厅；莉亚和路易斯的主人兼主厨格雷戈里·科利尔告诉美国广播公司新闻。
“我们必须非常迅速地站起来，因为我们知道我们可以做得很好。但我们有照顾家庭的员工，所以对我们来说，重要的是要说，“好吧，我们要怎么做才能不裁员呢？””萨布莉娜·科利尔是格雷戈里的妻子，也是共同所有者。
与此同时，德里克“D”海斯说，他看到了一个通过帮助社区成员来增加大戴夫奶酪牛排的机会，这是他在亚特兰大的餐馆。
“当大流行爆发时，我说，‘听着，我们没有恐慌，’”海斯告诉美国广播公司新闻。
这家餐厅已经成为亚特兰大居民的主食，甚至引起了嘻哈团体Migos说唱歌手Offset的注意。
在种族动荡和全球大流行的背景下，这些企业主不得不跳出框框思考，在持续的障碍中寻找弹性。
萨布丽娜·科利尔说:“我们改变了菜单和价格点，以更好地满足当地因疫情而遭受经济损失的顾客。”。
斯科特为她的美容店设计了一个免下车餐馆。
斯科特告诉美国广播公司新闻，“你可以在网上购物，选择当地的皮卡，然后你来到免下车餐馆，就像他们走进商店一样。”“当他们过来时，我给他们打电话，他们就走了，这对他们也有帮助。”
尽管有一些不可预见的挫折，业主们说他们最大的动机是代表性。
林恩美容院是德索托市唯一一家黑人、妇女和退伍军人拥有的商店。
斯科特说:“进入美容用品行业的大约90%的资金来自黑人社区，我们拥有该行业的大约1%。
然而，黑人自有美容用品协会(BOBSA)贸易集团的创始人和主席萨姆·恩农说，黑人美容用品所有者的人数正在缓慢增加。根据a2018年尼尔森报告，2017年，黑人消费者在6300万美元的行业总支出中至少花费了5400万美元。
“我知道人们都指望我，”斯科特说。“真正让我感觉良好、温暖和内心模糊的是，我看到你们小女孩、青少年和年轻人走进商店，他们看到了我。”
在亚特兰大，海耶斯已经把成为一名慈善家并为他所在社区的学生提供大学奖学金作为目标。
“我是一个33岁的黑人，犯了一些错误，”海斯说。“这是我人生的第二次机会。我现在是社区领袖。”
随着格雷戈里和萨布丽娜·科利尔努力寻找新的方法将孟菲斯和正宗的南方风味食物引入卡罗莱纳州，他们说他们的首要任务之一是帮助其他年轻的黑人厨师。
“我们在导师方面做得很好。我积极地向你展示，‘这是我们做事的方式，这是你做生意的方式’，因为他们不会永远和我们在一起。但我们希望他们知道，当他们的旅程与我们同在时，他们会去做我们教给他们的自己的事情。我们为他们所拥有的知识和经验做出了贡献，”格雷戈里·科利尔说。
在社区的支持下，这些企业主表示，这场流行病让他们每个人都可以退后一步，从企业家和个人的角度寻找改善的方法。
“大流行打乱了我的计划。但它也给了我一个愿景，如果这场流行病没有发生，我可能会错过什么，”斯科特说。
Motivated by community, these Black-owned business have grown in the pandemic
By relying on community support and faith and fighting for representation, three Black business owners showed how to survive against the odds.
While many businesses were forced to close their doors permanently due to COVID-19, these three owners actually opened their businesses amid the pandemic -- and have seen the businesses grow.
"I was set to open in March to honor my mom's birthday but ended up delaying the opening because of the pandemic," said Rodesia Scott of Lynn's Beauty Depot, a beauty supply store in Desoto, Texas.
Scott said she decided to hold her grand opening during the Juneteenth weekend, a holiday celebrating the end of slavery, because the event is widely celebrated across Texas.
In the heart of a historically black neighborhood in Charlotte, North Carolina, sits Leah and Louise, a juke joint. The Southern-inspired restaurant opened in March, just days before North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper announced all indoor dining would be closed and limited for takeout or delivery.
"We were so focused on opening the restaurant; we weren't gearing up for the pandemic," Gregory Collier, owner and head chef of Leah and Louise, told ABC News.
"We had to really be quick on our feet because we know we can be OK. But we have staff that takes care of family, so that was important to us to be like, 'OK, how are we going to do this without cutting anybody?'" Subrina Collier, the co-owner and Gregory's wife, said.
Meanwhile, Derrick "D" Hayes said he saw a chance to add onto Big Dave's Cheesesteak, his restaurant in Atlanta by helping members across the community.
"When the pandemic hit, I said, 'Listen, we're not panicking,'" Hayes told ABC News.
The restaurant has become a staple to residents across Atlanta, even garnering the attention of rapper Offset from the hip-hop group Migos.
Amid racial unrest and the global pandemic, these business owners had to think outside of the box, finding resilience through ongoing obstacles.
"We changed our menu and price points to cater more to local customers suffering financially from the pandemic," Subrina Collier said.
Scott created a drive-thru for her beauty supply store.
"You literally can shop online, and choose local pickup, and then you come to the drive-thru, and it's just the same as if they're coming into the store," Scott told ABC News. "When they come through, I ring them up, and they go, and it helps them as well."
Despite some unforeseen setbacks, the owners said their biggest motivation is representation.
Lynn's Beauty Depot is the only Black, woman, and veteran-owned store in the city of Desoto.
"About 90% of the money that goes into the beauty supply industry comes from the Black community, and we own about 1% of the industry," Scott said.
However, Sam Ennon, founder and president of the Black Owned Beauty Supply Association (BOBSA) trade group, says the number of Black beauty supply owners is slowly increasing. According to a 2018 Nielsen report, Black consumers spent at least $54 million of the $63 million industry total in 2017.
"I know people are counting on me," Scott says. "What really makes me feel good and warm and fuzzy inside about that is the fact that I see you little girls and young teenagers and young adults come in the store, and they see me."
In Atlanta, Hayes has made it a goal to serve as a philanthropist and offer college scholarships to students in his community.
"I am a 33-year-old Black man who has made some mistakes," Hayes said. "This is my second chance at life. I'm a community leader now."
As Gregory and Subrina Collier work to find new ways to introduce Memphis and authentic Southern-style food to the Carolinas, they say one of their top priorities is helping other young Black chefs.
"We are big on the mentorship side. I'm actively showing you, 'This is how we do this, this is how you do business,' because they won't be with us forever. But we want them to know when their journey is with us and they go do their own thing that we had taught them. We have contributed to the knowledge that they have and the experience that they have," Gregory Collier said.
With community support, these business owners said the pandemic allowed each of them to step back and find ways to improve from entrepreneurial and personal standpoints.
"The pandemic threw a wrench in my plans. But it also gave me a vision of what I probably would have missed out on if I did if the pandemic hadn't happened," Scott said.
