The companion documentary film We’re Still Here tells the story of small business owners and communities fighting commercial gentrification in Miami’s Little Santo Domingo, Chicago’s Puerto Rico Town, and the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Boyle Heights and East LA. The film follows SBAN on site visits to learn more about the efforts of The Allapattah Collaborative, the Puerto Rican Cultural Center, and Inclusive Action for the City.

Produced by social impact production company Unchained Stories, the film premiered at SBAN’s 2023 conference, where more than 250 people from local and national organizations came together for the first time to share knowledge and collaborate around preserving small businesses as vital anchors of diverse communities.

SBAN put out a call for case studies in 2022 to fill critical gaps in research about what small business anti-displacement strategies are effective. The resulting publication and film provide lessons for other organizations on how to advance anti-displacement policies and practices within and beyond their metropolitan areas. The case studies offer on-the-ground examples of community property ownership, culturally relevant technical assistance, Main Street models, new types of small business loan financing, unionization, construction disruption assistance, and cultural heritage preservation.

“Our new publication and film provide diverse perspectives and practical lessons for scholars, policy makers, small business support organizations, and others who work with BIPOC- and immigrant-owned businesses,” says SBAN Director Dr. Willow Lung-Amam. “They also make clear the collective policy response needed at all levels to support small businesses so they can remain vital anchors of stable, equitable, and thriving neighborhoods. These compelling stories make the case for why investments are so critical.”

About SBAN: The Small Business Anti-Displacement Network is a network of organizations across the U.S. and internationally that work to prevent displacement of BIPOC- and immigrant-owned small businesses in gentrifying neighborhoods. Housed at the University of Maryland’s National Center for Smart Growth Research and Education, SBAN includes policymakers, nonprofit advocates, technical assistance providers, real estate developers, financial institutions, scholars, and small business owners, who share knowledge and collaborate to advance innovative policies and practices that keep small businesses in place. SBAN’s work is supported by JPMorgan Chase.

Media Contact

Katy June-Friesen, The Small Business Anti-Displacement Network (SBAN), 202-904-6694, [email protected], https://antidisplacement.org/

SOURCE The Small Business Anti-Displacement Network (SBAN)