Communities of Color Were Hit Hard by COVID-19. These Detroit Entrepreneurs Persevered and Rose Above the Challenges
New series Communities of Hope will explore how minority business owners in metro Detroit channeled their energy into launching small businesses and pursuing passion projects.
Detroit has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic in the past year and a half. The city says more than 2,300 residents have been killed by the virus. Tens of thousands of other non-fatal cases have been confirmed.
The pandemic has affected the health of Detroiters. It’s impacted community ties, city services and hundreds of businesses. While the city is nearly 80 percent African American, there are other communities of color in Detroit that have also been hard hit by COVID-19.
“They leaned into doing that passion project they’ve always wanted to do in the hopes of serving other people, or finally pursuing that lifelong dream they’ve had.” –Nargis Rahman
Over the next few months, WDET’s Nargis Rahman will take a look at efforts in those communities to persevere and rise above. WDET News Director Jerome Vaughn spoke with her about the upcoming 12-part series called Communities of Hope.
“During the pandemic, a lot of people were anxious and worried about what the future will hold,” Rahman says. “And some people took that energy and decided to pursue things that they’ve always dreamed of doing or wanted to find something positive, in spite of all the negativity that was happening, the health issues and being worried about the future. … They leaned into doing that passion project they’ve always wanted to do in the hopes of serving other people, or finally pursuing that lifelong dream they’ve had.”
The first segment is scheduled to air the week of Oct. 4.
Listen: Journalist Nargis Rahman talks about how small businesses are community-building blocks.
Trusted, accurate, up-to-date.
WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
