HISTORY MONTH
encourage ongoing education in and out of the classroom
For more
Black History
Month
coverage, see
our special
section,
starting on
page 20
Above: The main entrance of
Brooklyn Public Library’s central
branch displays its support for the
Black Lives Matter movement on
Juneteenth 2020. Left: Local artists
and elected offi cials painted
the words “Black Lives Matter” on
Fulton Street across from Restoration
Plaza in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
File photos by Paul Frangipane
COURIER LIFE, FEBRUARY 18-24, 2022 5
be changed permanently, so
they don’t become an issue
again and again throughout
our history.”
According to Bennett,
giving Black business owners
visibility, supporting
their entrepreneurship, and
offering scholarships and
internships to young Black
people is key to achieving
economic justice.
A study conducted in
2020 by the National Bureau
of Economic Research
found a surge of start-ups
in America that coincided
with federal Covid-19 relief
stimulus, and it is strongest
in Black communities.
In different states, weekly
business registrations more
than doubled within months
after the CARES Act was
signed in March 2020. Then
it rose by 60 percent, around
the period of the supplementary
aid package signed in
December.
The greatest increase in
business registrations happened
in Black areas, particularly
higher median-income
Black neighborhoods.
“Black people need to
be part of the American
dream,” Bennett said.
All through Brooklyn,
there will be events to commemorate
Black History
Month. To support local
businesses, the New Women
Space, a community-led
place that promotes inclusivity,
will host Black-owned
pop-up shops and an African
festival will take place
at Hudson Station on Feb.19.
The Brooklyn Public Library
is hosting a series of
virtual readings for adults
about Black historical icons
and a concert by the Harlem
Chamber Players on Feb. 28.
“People are surprised to
see our collections on Black
history and the vast amount
of materials we have to learn
about it,” said librarian Donald
Peebles. “Yet, there are
still many misconceptions
about it, from the arrival of
Black people to America as
slaves, but also some as free
people and Black elites, to
who Black people are today.”