Think Out Loud

A coalition of groups representing business owners of color expressed a fear to Portland city leaders last week: Unless the city allocates significant portions of aid to minority-owned businesses, they wrote, they “foresee the near total decimation of the BIPOC-owned small business community in the Portland area.” Oregon Native American Chamber Executive Director James Alan Parker is one of the business leaders who signed the letter. He tells us why business owners of color have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. And the owners of the tattoo parlor Tattoo 34, Nisha Supahan and Toby Linwood, tell us how they’re faring.