Georgia AG asks feds to investigate Ahmaud Arbery shows

The shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery and the delay of the arrest of his killers has sparked outrage across the country. On Sunday night, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr released a statement calling for the federal government to investigate the local office’s handling of the murder.

“The request to the U.S. Department of Justice includes, but is not limited to, investigation of the communications and discussions by and between the Office of the District Attorney of the Brunswick Judicial Circuit and the Office of the District Attorney of the Waycross Judicial Circuit related to this case,” the AG’s office said in a statement released Sunday night.

READ MORE: Ahmaud Arbery footage of fatal shooting was leaked by a lawyer connected to the suspects

Arbery was shot and killed by Gregory McMichael and his son Travis McMichael while out jogging through a mostly-white neighborhood on Feb 23. It was another 74 days after the slaying, that the father-son duo were finally arrested and charged with murder. Due, in part, to the release of a video of the incident.

The mismanagement of the case led to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to conduct their own probe and ultimately led to the arrest.

Demonstrators protest the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery at the Glynn County Courthouse on May 8, 2020 in Brunswick, Georgia. Gregory McMichael and Travis McMichael were arrested the previous night and charged with murder. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

According to a report by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Carr is requesting the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia to lead a “complete and transparent review of how the Ahmaud Arbery case was handled from the outset.”

READ MORE: Candace Owens argues Ahmaud Arbery shooting isn’t about race, draws outrage

Two prosecutors recused themselves due to their relationship with the elder McMichael who was once an investigator in the Office of the District Attorney of the Waycross Judicial Circuit. The actions of two South Georgia district attorneys, Jackie Johnson, of the Brunswick Judicial Circuit, and George Barnhill, of Waycross, are in question.

Attorneys Lee Merritt, Benjamin Crump, and Chris Stewart all welcomed the announcement of the federal probe with a joint statement. “We have requested the involvement of the DOJ since we first took this case,” it reads, “There are far too many questions about how this case was handled and why it took 74 days for two of the killers to be arrested and charged in Mr. Arbery’s death.”

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African American-Owned Banks Are Making Sure Minority Businesses Are Receiving Stimulus Funds

African American-owned banks are helping small businesses owned by minorities receive a share of funds from the Paycheck Protection Program.

According to We Buy Black, an online market for black-owned products, OneUnited Bank announced the launch of its Small Business Administration’s PPP. The program is offering PPP loans to new and existing customers across the country through its online and mobile banking platform.

After many African American and female business owners complained of being left out of the first round of funds allocated to the PPP, $30 billion in stimulus funds has been allocated to Minority Depository Institutions and Community Development Financial Institutions.

“Most of our customers who filed PPP applications with other institutions during the first round were not funded,” said Teri Williams, president and COO of OneUnited Bank, the largest African American-owned bank in the country. “We’re proud that OneUnited can step up to provide black businesses with better access to stimulus funding.

However, OneUnited is not the only black-owned bank working to make sure black business owners get their share. Industrial Bank in Washington, Citizen’s Trust Bank in Atlanta, Unity National Bank in Houston, all ranked on the BE 100s Banks list, and others, are all active in securing funds for African American businesses.

For African American business owners, this is also a way to ensure that the bank they’re using is dedicated to ensuring they receive PPP funds.

According to the Brookings Institute, a decade of business ownership gains by African American-owned businesses since the 2008 recession is now in jeopardy due to the coronavirus pandemic.

As a result of the pandemic, African American minority and women-owned businesses are suffering even more than white-owned businesses, which typically receive better loans through bigger banks.

The first round of PPP funding was a Wild West of first come, first serve, and included many large hotel chains and restaurant franchises receiving funds. Many of them, including Shake Shack and Ruth Chris’ Steakhouse were shamed into returning the money.

from Black Enterprise https://ift.tt/2yL496p

African American-Owned Banks Are Making Sure Minority Businesses Are Receiving Stimulus Funds

African American-owned banks are helping small businesses owned by minorities receive a share of funds from the Paycheck Protection Program.

According to We Buy Black, an online market for black-owned products, OneUnited Bank announced the launch of its Small Business Administration’s PPP. The program is offering PPP loans to new and existing customers across the country through its online and mobile banking platform.

After many African American and female business owners complained of being left out of the first round of funds allocated to the PPP, $30 billion in stimulus funds has been allocated to Minority Depository Institutions and Community Development Financial Institutions.

“Most of our customers who filed PPP applications with other institutions during the first round were not funded,” said Teri Williams, president and COO of OneUnited Bank, the largest African American-owned bank in the country. “We’re proud that OneUnited can step up to provide black businesses with better access to stimulus funding.

However, OneUnited is not the only black-owned bank working to make sure black business owners get their share. Industrial Bank in Washington, Citizen’s Trust Bank in Atlanta, Unity National Bank in Houston, all ranked on the BE 100s Banks list, and others, are all active in securing funds for African American businesses.

For African American business owners, this is also a way to ensure that the bank they’re using is dedicated to ensuring they receive PPP funds.

According to the Brookings Institute, a decade of business ownership gains by African American-owned businesses since the 2008 recession is now in jeopardy due to the coronavirus pandemic.

As a result of the pandemic, African American minority and women-owned businesses are suffering even more than white-owned businesses, which typically receive better loans through bigger banks.

The first round of PPP funding was a Wild West of first come, first serve, and included many large hotel chains and restaurant franchises receiving funds. Many of them, including Shake Shack and Ruth Chris’ Steakhouse were shamed into returning the money.

from Black Enterprise https://ift.tt/2yL496p

Over 70% of Small Business Owners Expect Coronavirus To Have “Permanent Effects” On How They Run Their Business

Trounced by the colossal blow of the coronavirus, optimism among American small business owners has plummeted to its lowest mark in three years.

A new survey by CNBC and SurveyMonkey revealed that small business confidence has dipped to a record low since the survey began recording the Small Business Index in the second quarter of 2017. The index fell from 61 out of a possible 100 in the first quarter to 48 this quarter.

Just 18% of smaller business owners—less than one in five—report current business conditions are “good,” down from 56% in the first quarter of 2020. At the same time, 43% of small business owners contend that conditions are “bad,” a figure that before had never been above 11%.

On a quarterly basis, CNBC and SurveyMonkey poll more than 2,000 small business owners to help measure the vitality of the U.S. economy along with trying to gain a view from Main Street on jobs, taxes, and other topics.

The latest analysis from the Q2 2020 CNBC/SurveyMonkey survey uncovered key findings:

• Some 72% of all small business owners say the coronavirus outbreak is likely to have permanent effects on the way they operate. Thirty-six percent of those owners report they have cut their own pay, while about one quarter have either laid off or furloughed employees. Some 52% of businesses that laid off or furloughed employees expect to hire all of them back once things return to “normal.” Around 37% plan to hire “some” employees back, while 9% say the jobs are lost forever. The crisis has also bought good prospects, with 7% of small business owners reporting they have pivoted their firms to offer products or services to help fight the pandemic.
• Fifty-two percent of small business owners approve how President Trump is handling his job, down 12 points from 64% in the first quarter.
• Over three quarters of small business owners with five or more employees say they’ve applied for “Payroll Protection” loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration. Some 20% of the firms received funds, while those with 50 or more employees are more likely than their smaller peers to already have obtained funding.

The SBA program, the Paycheck Protection Program, was launched in April in two phases. The federal government’s roughly $660 billion loan program was intended for businesses with fewer than 500 workers. Firms can use the forgivable loans to help cover payroll and operating costs.

The CNBC/SurveyMonkey data, announced on May 4, consisted of some stunning revelations.

“The totality of the quarter-to-quarter change is unlike anything we’ve ever seen, with every marker of confidence plummeting at once,” Jon Cohen, chief research officer at SurveyMonkey, said in a news release. “Small business owners overwhelmingly see the pandemic as having permanent effects on the way they operate; the buoyant expectations from Q1 have been entirely upended.”

The CNBC/SurveyMonkey Small Business Survey was conducted via SurveyMonkey’s online platform from April 21-27, 2020, among a national sample of 2,220 self-identified small business owners ages 18 and up.

from Black Enterprise https://ift.tt/3fNm0ue

Over 70% of Small Business Owners Expect Coronavirus To Have “Permanent Effects” On How They Run Their Business

Trounced by the colossal blow of the coronavirus, optimism among American small business owners has plummeted to its lowest mark in three years.

A new survey by CNBC and SurveyMonkey revealed that small business confidence has dipped to a record low since the survey began recording the Small Business Index in the second quarter of 2017. The index fell from 61 out of a possible 100 in the first quarter to 48 this quarter.

Just 18% of smaller business owners—less than one in five—report current business conditions are “good,” down from 56% in the first quarter of 2020. At the same time, 43% of small business owners contend that conditions are “bad,” a figure that before had never been above 11%.

On a quarterly basis, CNBC and SurveyMonkey poll more than 2,000 small business owners to help measure the vitality of the U.S. economy along with trying to gain a view from Main Street on jobs, taxes, and other topics.

The latest analysis from the Q2 2020 CNBC/SurveyMonkey survey uncovered key findings:

• Some 72% of all small business owners say the coronavirus outbreak is likely to have permanent effects on the way they operate. Thirty-six percent of those owners report they have cut their own pay, while about one quarter have either laid off or furloughed employees. Some 52% of businesses that laid off or furloughed employees expect to hire all of them back once things return to “normal.” Around 37% plan to hire “some” employees back, while 9% say the jobs are lost forever. The crisis has also bought good prospects, with 7% of small business owners reporting they have pivoted their firms to offer products or services to help fight the pandemic.
• Fifty-two percent of small business owners approve how President Trump is handling his job, down 12 points from 64% in the first quarter.
• Over three quarters of small business owners with five or more employees say they’ve applied for “Payroll Protection” loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration. Some 20% of the firms received funds, while those with 50 or more employees are more likely than their smaller peers to already have obtained funding.

The SBA program, the Paycheck Protection Program, was launched in April in two phases. The federal government’s roughly $660 billion loan program was intended for businesses with fewer than 500 workers. Firms can use the forgivable loans to help cover payroll and operating costs.

The CNBC/SurveyMonkey data, announced on May 4, consisted of some stunning revelations.

“The totality of the quarter-to-quarter change is unlike anything we’ve ever seen, with every marker of confidence plummeting at once,” Jon Cohen, chief research officer at SurveyMonkey, said in a news release. “Small business owners overwhelmingly see the pandemic as having permanent effects on the way they operate; the buoyant expectations from Q1 have been entirely upended.”

The CNBC/SurveyMonkey Small Business Survey was conducted via SurveyMonkey’s online platform from April 21-27, 2020, among a national sample of 2,220 self-identified small business owners ages 18 and up.

from Black Enterprise https://ift.tt/3fNm0ue