#WeAreMainStreet 
Main Street America started the #WeAreMainStreet hashtag as a platform for collective celebration of the people that make Main Streets special and to showcase the broad diversity of champions who make these places thrive. At Heart of Biddeford, we seek to build a vibrant, inclusive and sustainable community — and that happens best when we get everyone around the table. That involves a lot more than a hashtag. It involves learning about the impacts of structural inequalities, relationship-building, engagement, honest self-assessment, and a willingness to try new things.

How COVID-19 Surfaced an Equity Issue

The COVID-19 pandemic did not just present health and economic challenges, but also equity issues. Research from the COVID Tracking Project showed that Black people had a much higher rate of cases and hospitalizations nationally than white people. In Maine, our state had the worst racial disparity in COVID cases in the country.

Equity issues were also apparent in the impact of the pandemic on Black-owned businesses. In the Heart of Biddeford Main Street district, seven Black-owned businesses have opened in the past four years, and over half were dramatically affected by COVID-19: one closed completely, two closed for 4-5 months, and one had to shut down for over a month due to a COVID case. In contrast, only 10% of the remaining 70 brick-and-mortar businesses were similarly impacted, with just two closures as of summer 2021.

In this rural, predominantly white state, local Black business owners are essential community builders. They also provide key locations for local and visiting Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) customers and visitors. 

Because of the disparate impact of COVID-19, Heart of Biddeford made this space to help these businesses shine! Find out more at the links below as well as on the Black Owned Maine website.