Barbershops and hair salons are among the the businesses that will be permitted to reopen this weekend in Philadelphia, and for Black small business owners — representing shops that are often a cornerstone of their local communities — the reopening means more than a chance to make money again.

Syreeta Scott is the owner of Duafe Holistic Hair Studio in North Philadelphia and says life has been stressful for her and her staff since the salon closed in March.

“We used to have anywhere from 700 to 900 people come in and out of salon in a month,” she said. “I never had to worry about us making our payroll. On March 16, we closed, and it was very abrupt.”

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