Segun Idowu is the executive director of BECMA and a leader of a coalition urging state lawmakers to direct federal COVID stimulus money to small businesses and communities of color in Massachusetts.

 “This is one of the only times in our lifetime that we will have this huge infusion of financial resources to create a new world,” said Segun Idowu, president of the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts and a member of the coalition. “We’re telling everybody that if you want the business owners in your district to still be business owners next year, you have to put out money right now.”

Some members of BECMA are seeing boom times right now, Idowu acknowledged. But many more are suffering — their stores, restaurants, and salons hit hard by the pandemic and yet to recover from the shutdowns of 2020.

“The majority of our businesses are in these low-growth industries that require in-person human contact,” Idowu said.

“We are paying our landlords so we have very little money to invest in our businesses and our employees,” Idowu said. “If we own our land, the money stays with the business.”