On International Boulevard in East Oakland, just 5% of businesses received Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans from April to August of 2020. Meanwhile, in the nearby, mostly white neighborhood of Montclair, 49% of businesses received a PPP loan. Advocates and small business owners point to factors like language barriers, a complicated application process, and a legacy of banks not serving communities of color.
This kind of disparity exists all over the Bay Area, and as the region reopens, this unequal distribution of loans will have lasting impacts.
Guest: Adhiti Bandlamudi, KQED Silicon Valley reporter
This story was reported in partnership with Reveal and the Center for Investigative Reporting.
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