Harris’ Plan Revitalises Durham’s Black Wall Street

Kamala Harris’ new proposal for small businesses, including tax credit expansion and easing startup costs, gathers support from local business owners and lawmakers.

Megan Cain, a Black entrepreneur, began her business journey after college graduation with The ZEN Succulent, an online plant and gift shop started in 2012. The venture eventually became a small physical store on Durham’s historic Black Wall Street.

The first dollar she earned has been working for her for a decade, she notes.

Cain’s brick-and-mortar establishment recently hosted a significant discussion on the future of small businesses under Harris’s administration. Cain believes her own start-up journey would’ve been dramatically different had the recent small business plan by Vice President Kamala Harris been available.

60 days before the 2024 election, the Republicans’ Project 2025, which proposes considerable tax cuts for the rich, was strongly opposed for its potential additional cost for middle-class families.

Small business success plan

Harris’ proposal intends to alleviate the financial burden on new businesses and encourage entrepreneurship, particularly in underserved communities. This includes expanding tax credits for new businesses from $5,000 to $50,000.

In a discussion about the plan’s potential to overcome common entrepreneurial hurdles, Cain joined small business owner Lashonda Fort Modest of Melanated Wine, Congresswoman Valerie Foushee, and State Rep. Zach Hawkins.

READ MORE: Harris’ plan to support North Carolinian small businesses

Harris also aims to remove the “red tape” facing many startups, intending to eliminate certain regulations and paperwork that delay small business operations.

However, Cain’s successful eight-year business journey hit a roadblock with the COVID-19 pandemic. The Trump administration’s response caused a halt in progress as 200,000 small businesses shut down and $40 million federal support was cut by Trump for small businesses.

This lost money could have helped businesses survive the pandemic.

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In Durham, approximately 25% of the city’s Black-owned businesses permanently closed due to the pandemic.

Reviving Black Wall Street

Durham’s “Black Wall Street” used to be a hub for more than 200 Black-owned businesses in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Over time, construction and developments have disrupted much of the district. Recent revitalization efforts have brought a resurgence of Black Wall Street, local business owners say.

The Biden-Harris administration has introduced policies such as the Economic Opportunity Coalition, which has brought $3 billion to Durham’s small businesses.

In a social media post, Harris praised small business owners and entrepreneurs as more than just business leaders.

Harris’ proposal targets to break the current record of 19 million small business applications held by the Biden-Harris administration to 25 million applications in her first term as president.

On average, it costs $40,000 to start a new business, an astronomical figure for many potential entrepreneurs like Fort Modest, who believes Harris’ plan better accounts for the true costs of starting a business.

Fort Modest and Cain express hope for North Carolina’s new entrepreneurs with Harris’ proposal while stating their belief that Project 2025 would leave them behind.

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