Entrepreneurs of color are making the pandemic pivot
WHEN SHE OPENED A COFFEE SHOP AND BOOKSTORE IN 2016, Zenat Begum created more than just a place to pick up a snack and something to read. Playground, which occupies the space where her father operated a hardware store for two decades, also became a hub for the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, and a safe space for people in marginalized communities to meet—the kind of place where customers and friends might crowd into a writing workshop or an art fair or an open mic.
But when COVID-19 hit, all of that came to an end. Begum closed the bookstore, scaled down her staff, stopped the radio program she hosted at the shop and cut down on food offerings. Indoor seating was out of the question.
Like many other small-business owners
