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The year 2020 has been eventful, particularly in the Black community. The coronavirus pandemic disproportionately affected African Americans than any other group. According to a CBS news report in June, 40% of Black businesses closed permanently because of the contagion compared to 17% of White-owned businesses.

Black unemployment reached 14.6% compared to 9.2% of White people in June while the National Urban League also reported Blacks were three times likely to be infected with COVID-19 than whites. Beyond COVID-19, there were multiple protests in Black communities against the brute killing of unarmed Black men by the police.

To capture how eventful the year has been, Google tapped music producer and Grammy Award artiste Peter CottonTale to compose a song that describes the past year for its Year of Search.

The Year of Search typically aggregates moments and top search for the past year based on words and/ or questions people ask frequently in Google’s search engine. Top of the trends this year include Juneteenth, Black Lives Matter, and murder hornets.

“Trying to make a sound that culminates 2020 … was honestly way too sad,” CottonTale told Insider. “Because for a lot of people [the year 2020] sounded like loss, or it sounded like a lot of challenges in their personal lives.”

For this project, CottonTale co-opted 80 Black artists, engineers, producers, and managers to create the song “Together” for Google. Actress Cynthia Erivo, Chance the Rapper and the Chicago Children’s Choir featured on the song.

“All the stars aligned on this collaboration with Peter CottonTale,” Google’s Head of Production Patrick Marzullo told Insider. “The tone and story he wanted to tell through music aligned perfectly with our vision for the film, so from there it was easy to give him the time and space to do what he does best.”

Instead of composing a song that sounded like a loss or full of challenges, CottonTale decided to create a song that had a more optimistic view of how 2021 is going to be like. “Together” recognizes 2020’s difficulties, challenges and the need for communities to unite as one.

As part of the project, Google has promised to donate $15,000 to the Merit School of Music and $ 35,000 to Chicago Children’s Choir. Google had never featured a song on its homepage before until this December 23. “Together” also featured in Google’s “Year in Search 2020” video.

CottonTale appreciates the fact that he is part of a “first” with Google. He said in an interview: “It’s an honor being on the front page, but I’m so happy that this message can be delivered like across the board and have Black-led faces as well, and that Google is amazingly supportive in putting us on the forefront of that. That’s what I think it became about.”

“Together” landed on Google’s homepage December 23.

Due to the economic devastation brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses have had to learn how to adapt to a new reality, leaving them uncertain about how to move forward towards profitability.

This week, Google announced that they will be investing $2.35 million across several tech startups within Atlanta, the city recognized as the next Silicon Valley for emerging Black-owned tech startups. The funds will be distributed through the Black Founders Fund to 36 Atlanta-based businesses. Through Google, the fund has been able to invest in over 70 startups across the country with $100,000 business grants totaling $5 million to help these businesses continue to grow and thrive amid the global pandemic.

“We are committed to helping Black founders who have been deeply impacted by COVID-19 and who are disproportionately locked out of access to the funding they need to succeed,” said Jewel Burks Solomon, head of Google for Startups US, in a press release according to BET.com. “By combining cash awards with Google for Startups mentorship and programming, we hope to help create a more level playing field for these founders, who are building amazing companies and making an impact on their communities.”

Atlanta-based businesses that have been named recipients include Healthy Hip Hop, Just Add Honey, Portrait Coffee, Origyn, Laine London, Jax Rideshare Rentals, Mar Dat, TruDiary, Vibe Ride, and LVNGbook.

“The Google for Startups Black Founders Fund will have a considerable impact on the growth of Portrait Coffee,” said Aaron Fender, founder of Portrait Coffee, tells Hypepotamus. “This capital and support come at a critical time, allowing us to hire more team members and purchase additional manufacturing equipment to support our growing business.”

This news comes with Google’s recent partnership with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund to provide more digital skills workshops for HBCUs around the country as part of their $175 million commitment to racial equity back in June of this year.

To reduce the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the black community, Google opens applications for the Black Ads Academy and supports entities working on projects to combat violence

To celebrate Afro-Entrepreneurship Week, Google is launching initiatives to support the black community, which includes training and financial support through Google.org, Google's philanthropic arm. In addition to announcing the new edition of the Black Ads Academy, aimed at helping Afro-entrepreneurs and Afro-entrepreneurs to use digital marketing to navigate this moment of uncertainty, the company will allocate around R $ 2.5 million to NGOs focused on projects to combat violence police and the genocide of black people in Brazil.

The novelties are intended to help the 14 million black and black entrepreneurs in Brazil - who are among the most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a  survey conducted by Sebrae and the Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV).

“The difficulties brought by the current moment, added to structural racism, make black entrepreneurs form one of the communities most impacted by the pandemic of COVID-19”, says Christiane Silva Pinto, product marketing manager for small and medium companies at Google Brazil. "The announced initiatives aim to value the daily efforts of Afro-entrepreneurs who struggle every day to keep their businesses alive."

Check out the details of the main ads below: 

• Black Ads Academy

In September, Google will hold the new edition of the Black Ads Academy, a project designed by Google to develop skills in Digital Marketing and create opportunities for black entrepreneurs and professionals in the advertising market.

This year, the project will count on the partnership of non-profit organizations, such as Diver.SSA, FA.VELA and Instituto GUETTO, who will be responsible for the workshops on entrepreneurship and career development. Besides, the program will be carried out in the digital environment, allowing the participation of candidates from all over the country. To register, free of charge, just go to fill the form until 09/08.

• Google Academy training

The  Google Academy, education hub, and online content on digital advertising receive a training session focused on specific challenges and needs of Brazilian afroempreendedores. The live training will be taught by Google product specialists in partnership with AfroGooglers.

To participate, interested parties must access the official website and register using the form. Then, just connect on the scheduled day and time. It is worth mentioning that all content is available on the platform, to access later.

• Google.org donation to NGOs

Google.org, Google's philanthropic arm, will allocate about R $ 2.5 million to Brazilian non-governmental organizations focused on projects related to racial justice and ensuring a safe environment for black people in Brazil. Soon, NGOs selected to receive financial support will be announced.

• Commitments to racial equity

In addition to the ads, Google is also launching the Portuguese version of its commitment to racial equality website, with the latest updates on the company's efforts worldwide. In addition, throughout the week, the social networks of Google Brazil will receive a series of publications in addition to the #CoisaDePreto Manifesto, for the valorization of Afro-entrepreneur.

The announcements made today are in addition to other initiatives to support black entrepreneurs recently announced by Google in Brazil, such as the R $ 5 million funds for startups founded and led by black entrepreneurs in Brazil, announced in July by Google for Startups. This is the first time that Google invests financially in startups in the country and the expectation is that, initially, about 30 investments will be made in the next 18 months, without any counterpart.