Race and Diversity Resources

America is going through a long-overdue reckoning on the ways in which systemic racism and discrimination impact the lives of Black and other minority individuals as well as their communities. The small business sector is no different, and there is a long way to go before there is true equity among entrepreneurs of all races.

As an organization that spans the entire state of California and whose members represent a diverse spectrum of small business owners and self-employed workers, CAMEO is in a position of power to facilitate important conversations and advocate for change. We want to start by sharing resources – including research and programs – that can be used to increase our understanding of these issues and how best to address them.

Research and Thought Leadership

Access to Capital

Economic Development

COVID-19

Events

Resources for Black and Minority Small Business Owners

Access to Capital

  • Harlem Capital Partners is a diversity-focused VC fund on a mission to invest in 1000 diverse founders over the next 20 years.
  • The Impact Developers Fund is a $26 million fund that will provide capital to emerging impact businesses that lack access to adequate affordable capital, including minority and women-owned real estate development companies.
  • Kapor Capital is an Oakland-based fund that invests in tech-driven early-stage companies that seek to advance opportunities for low-income communities and/or communities of color in the United States. The firm funds entrepreneurs from all backgrounds, especially people of color, women, and other groups that have been historically underrepresented.

Business Assistance

  • The Black Business Association provides information, tools, resources, and networking opportunities for African American business owners.
  • Black Founders provides resources, mentorship, and funding to Black entrepreneurs in the technology industry.
  • Black Women Enterprises provides business technical assistance, resources and procurement information to Black women business owners.
  • Millennial Entrepreneurs Redefined offers workshops for minority entrepreneurs to kickstart their businesses and learn how to pitch to investors.
  • The National Minority Supplier Development Council helps increase contract opportunities for certified minority business enterprises through capacity building, networking, and partnerships.

Education and Information

Government Programs

Marketing & Promotion

  • Bay Area Black Market helps Black entrepreneurs grow through branding, promotional, and networking tools.
  • Official Black Wall Street is an app and digital platform that helps consumers find, review, and support Black-owned businesses.
  • Support Black Owned is a directory of Black-owned businesses and offers tools that allow them to invest and build wealth in their communities.

General Resources on Race & Inequality

Books

Podcasts

  • Seeing White, a Scene On Radio podcast series on what it means to be white
  • Pod Save the People explores news, culture, social justice, and politics from a POC perspective.
  • The Land that Never Has Been Yet, a Scene on Radio podcast series about democracy.
  • Nice White Parents, a New York Times podcast about race issues in schools.
  • The Ezra Klein Show
    • Episode 344: “Free Speech, Safety, and ‘The Letter'”
    • Episode 351: “How Inequality and White Identity Politics Feed Each Other”
    • Episode 355: “What It Would Take to End Child Poverty in America”
    • Episode 356: “Isabel Wilkerson Wants to Change How We Understand Race in America”
  • Code Switch explores how race impacts every part of society.
  • Come Through with Rebecca Carroll offers conversations about race.
  • Yo, Is This Racist?, a light-hearted podcast where the hosts answer fan-submitted questions about racism.

Other Media