Recent Survey Found Gentrification is Affecting Sumter

For a capstone project at Morris College, I looked into the Effects of Gentrification on Small Black owned businesses. Have you traveled downtown Sumter lately? From the Old Court House down to Jehova across the old bridge, new development is occurring.
But where does that leave the low to moderate income community? Well according to researchers the unintended result of development is gentrification. Low to moderate income community members across the nation are displaced when median and upper class income persons move into the community. One of the main ways to survive is for the small black owned businesses to reinvent themselves.
When folks in Sumter were surveyed on gentrification they had many concerns. 55.5% of survey participants reported to live in the city limits of Sumter. While 90% reported that they know what gentrification is. A large number of participants agreed they knew of at least one business in the area to close due to gentrification with the total being 51.4% of all participants. A large portion of the survey participants felt their family had not been personally affected by gentrification with these same folks knowing of at least one business that was forced to make changes to their building due to gentrification.
Small black owned businesses help keep the culture of the community alive but when there is an influx of wealthier residents moving in it is imperative they learn how to cater to a more diverse population, while offering their services and products if they intend to survive the effects of gentrification.

With a lack of resources it may seem difficult to rebrand yourselves but it can be small things that can be changed to potentially reach a wider market. 49.1% of survey respondents felt financing opportunities for small black owned businesses were scarce. Black owned businesses must learn to be creative when creating a game plan to face gentrification.