I know firsthand how hard it is for mom-and-pop shops and other local businesses to sustain their operations when they are hit by economic factors outside their control. When I was a teenager, I worked in the hair salon that my mother owned in Atlanta. The men and women I met there changed my life. They believed in me. They encouraged me. They taught me about how people in a community support one another.

Small businesses like my mother’s shop are indeed “essential” enterprises. But I also know from personal experience that social distancing is impossible while shampooing or cutting a customer’s hair. The workers in these industries should not be forced to choose between going back to work at this crucial time and forfeiting their jobs and livelihoods. To provide some relief for these workers, I have created a relief fund for beauty salons and barbershops affected by the pandemic.

We should also recognize that many of the kinds of businesses that are reopening are especially popular in African American neighborhoods, where barbershops and hair salons are ubiquitous. This concerns me because we continue to see much higher rates of infection and death occurring among African Americans than in other communities.