From Paycheck Protection Program loans to mortgages, marijuana arrests to SWAT Team raids, widespread disparities persist 156 years after Union soldiers shared the news of freedom to enslaved Black people in Texas on June 19, 1865. Those disparities remain the result of systemic barriers that single out Black members of the community. Despite the lack of equity, advocates in the community are working tirelessly to close the gaps.

A WCNC Charlotte analysis of early PPP data found white men received the vast majority of forgivable loans. Of the owners who identified race in their applications, Black-owned businesses secured just 3% of PPP loans worth $150,000 or more in the Carolinas.

"Are we invisible?" NAACP President Rev. Corine Mack asked in response to our findings. "Does our pain not feel like pain to some folks? When we cry, do you not see our tears? This is a serious problem and it's not just in Charlotte."

The far-reaching disparities resulted in Small Business Administration changes in subsequent rounds to address the lack of equity.

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