Across the country, Black-owned businesses make up just 2.5% of all businesses. In Peekskill, New York, one long-time business owner says many Black businesses locally have disappeared.
Lafern Joseph, or – as the community knows her – Miss Fern, has been a Black woman business owner in Peekskill for over 30 years. Her store, The Fern Tree, is an African gift shop. She says the inspiration came from a store in Brooklyn, where she grew up.
“The first African gift shop I ever saw was called Nyabinghi African Gift Shop in Brooklyn on Flatbush and Nevins. And it was a man from Nigeria, and his name was Nyabinghi. He had, I think, four sons, and all their middle names were Nyabinghi,” Joseph said.
She says one day she went into the store and called for Nyabinghi. Everyone answered.
The first time she went into Nyabinghi’s store, she said she tried to buy some rocks and cowry shells, but instead Nyabinghi gave them to her for free. It left a lasting impression.
“I had never seen a pocketbook made of elephant skin. I had never seen statues carved so intricately that looked like me. It had healthy lips and nice, broad noses and everything, and people looked like people. And then I saw masks from different regions in the diaspora. I saw clothing with colors that were bright and vibrant, and each print had a meaning,” said Joseph.
Joseph’s store smells like incense and is packed with wares: colorful shirts and jackets with Aaliyah and Martin Luther King, hats and shoes. Even butters and incense are all for sale. It’s a vibrant tapestry.
But at a recent Peekskill NAACP meeting, one of the members complained that local Black businesses are declining.
Brian Fassett, a Peekskill Common Council member and former board director of the Peekskill Business Improvement District, says many small businesses are struggling – or have closed.
“Downtown used to have a lot of foot traffic. There used to be a lot of people on the streets. There were bigger businesses here. There were manufacturers. People were not traveling out of Peekskill to their jobs. They were working in Peekskill. So there was a lot of foot traffic and ability to drive independent mom and pop shops. So we've seen that change, but I think that's a nationwide problem, that's not just a Peekskill issue,” Davis said.
Ron Davis, a lifelong Peekskill resident, said he remembers a lot of Black businesses specifically that have disappeared.
“When I grew up, there were different businesses in the community. We had barber shops, some of the local stores were the same way. Even a lot of the professional businesses, auto mechanics, things like that. There's been a sharp decline.”
According to the State of Black Businesses Report 2024 from Third Way, almost half of all Black businesses are new – opened within the past two years – and fewer than 10% of Black businesses are more than 20 years old.
Online shopping and big businesses are squeezing small mom and pop shops generally. And Joseph noted that many young Black business owners are also operating solely online to avoid costly rent for a storefront.
Including numbers from the Peekskill NAACP’s Black Business Directory, WAMC counted over 80 Black businesses in Peekskill.
Fassett says opening a small business is challenging for anyone. It requires not only a plan and a clear vision, but also considerable upfront investment.
“I think specifically for the Black business owners, access to capital has been challenging,” Fassett said.
Joseph put it a little bit more candidly. She thinks something more nefarious is still rearing its ugly head. She recalled trying to get a loan for her own business.
“And my rate-to-ratio was way up high, right. There was a Black woman I was working with, and she said, ‘You should be able to get this loan.’ Because I was trying to do some work in this building and they wouldn't give it to me. I said, ‘Why didn't they give it to me?’ She said, ‘I don't know.’ I said, ‘Then it's color.’ She ended up quitting because of what they did to me.” Joseph said.
Third Way's data supports what Joseph experienced. The thinktank’s report found 40% of Black businesses are completely denied loans, lines of credit, and cash advances, while half as many white-owned businesses are completely declined.
Meanwhile, only a third of Black businesses are fully approved, while more than half of white businesses are fully approved.
Joseph says she’s been able to keep her store open so long because she owns the building. She says her mom worked in real estate and taught her financial literacy at a young age and even helped her find the building in Peekskill over 30 years ago after she saw rents that were too high.
For Joseph, running The Fern Tree is a calling. She says she tries to hire anyone who needs help and prices her goods affordably, even as prices everywhere skyrocket.
“Give people a freaking break. Sometimes people may be down to they last little bit, but they need something to put on to go someplace. They may be 10 dollars short. Okay, hey, take it. You never know. I might be hungry one day. You might see me. Give me a piece of bread,” said Joseph.
