00:00You are watching Essence of the Matter, COVID-19's impact on Black America,
00:05and how small Black businesses can survive this pandemic.
00:09Next up, we're speaking with Marc Morial, President and CEO of the National Urban League.
00:14The Essence Festival is special to me. One of the great honors I've had is to be involved
00:20from the very beginning in the creation of the Essence Festival when I was mayor of New Orleans.
00:27I'm proud that it has emerged as the number one African American cultural experience in the
00:33history of the United States. From the very beginning, it's been a party with a purpose.
00:38And what does that mean? It had as part of its animation to empower women, to empower people
00:46of color, to empower them economically, socially, from an educational point of view.
00:52Now, in this pandemic, this coronavirus emergency, this public health emergency,
00:59the National Urban League is going to lean into its role as an economic first responder
01:05by providing the very best information, the very best advocacy on your behalf
01:10to ensure that any government dollars that Congress appropriates don't bypass our community,
01:15and that we get a fair share of that. So if you're a business owner, lean in, be assertive,
01:22be aggressive, take advantage of the SBA loan program, contact your banker, go to the SBA website.
01:29We want you to be fully empowered to take advantage of this. Yes, these are difficult times. We want to
01:36support each other. We're part of this country. We're essential to this country. An inclusionary,
01:43equitable country requires that we take full advantage of the opportunities in the CARES Act.
01:50So I'm Mark Moriel. I'm President and CEO of the National Urban League. It's an honor always to be
01:55working with Essence. It's an honor to be working with AT&T. It's an honor to be working with all people
02:02of goodwill who want to help communities during these challenging and difficult times. Stay safe,
02:10stay healthy, and keep the faith.
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