Protest And A Black-Owned Business
Small businesses were already having a tough enough time weathering the effects of the coronavirus lockdown, especially those in large urban areas, like Minneapolis.
Chris Montana worked hard to keep his distillery business afloat. He pivoted to making hand sanitizer, and did well enough to hope that his company could make it through. Then the Black Lives Matter protests came to Minneapolis. Chris welcomed the demonstrations and joined the marchers, but he could see that some people weren't along to protest: they wanted to take advantage of the unrest to create mayhem and steal.
Chris could see what was coming. He locked his doors and left a sign saying "Black-owned business" out front. But the next day, he returned to find his distillery looted and torched. We talked to him about his experience and his thoughts.