After two years of focus on community awareness, Tulsa’s Asian Affairs Commission is shifting focus away from events and towards Asian-owned small businesses.
This comes after the latest Equality Indicators report, which tracks disparities among communities across Tulsa, showed that business ownership among Tulsans who identify as Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander has dropped from 10.3% to 4.5% since 2018.
“I think there is a very clear pathway for us to learn, elevate and advise on what is happening within our community that’s causing small business to take such a hit,” said commission Chair Parisa Pilehvar at the commission’s Aug. 4 meeting. “For us to do that, we know that we can’t focus on something and still do everything else.”
The reasons behind the sharp decline remain unclear. The Flyer reached out to the Tulsa Area United Way, which produces the Equality Indicators report for the city, for more information about what may be driving the change.
“Unfortunately, we do not have any specific insights into the causes of the decline,” said Melanie Poulter, the Tulsa Area United Way’s director of research and data, in a statement to the Flyer.
Commissioners plan to spend the coming year hearing from Asian-owned businesses, identifying barriers they face and connecting owners with existing resources, while potentially getting a clearer picture of what is behind the decline reflected in the report.
Pilehvar discussed helping small business owners find access to resources that are available.
“My hope is that if we are talking about this every month for a year and people will finally have an answer to, ‘what does the Asian Affairs Commission do?’” said Pilehvar. “If we can say right now we do small business support, then maybe that makes us a little easier to find. So I’m hopeful.”
Discovered by Documenters
This was informed by Matt Rudy’s Documenter notes from the Tulsa Asian Affairs Commission meeting on Aug. 4. Find out more about how Tulsa Documenters works here.
News decisions at the Tulsa Flyer are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
