KB’s Story

KB Brown, Wolfpack Promotionals
Minneapolis, MN

In North Minneapolis, K.B. Brown owns one of two black-owned printing companies in the state, Wolfpack Promotionals. He had to lay off his three employees about a week ago.

Brown’s business was already struggling due to the trade war, and now stacks of orders—key chains, mugs, t-shirts—sit uncollected on his shelves as corporate clients trim discretionary spending.

He and his co-owner wife are two months behind on the mortgage for their Minneapolis shop, and now have to think about the mortgage on their own home.

“Within the next couple of weeks, we’re going to have to make a couple [of] hard decisions,” Brown told The Root. “I mean, we can’t keep racking up utility bills here.”

Especially since it’s unclear how long this crisis will last.

“We have no idea,” he said. “Uncertainty is what we live in now.”

This story was originally published on The Root.