JOHN YANG: Four years ago, black owned businesses were among the hardest hit by the disruption of the pandemic.

Many of them have rebounded and in one retail space in Washington, DC, supporting local black entrepreneurs has been a key mission.

From the NewsHour Student Reporting Labs journalism training program, Morgan Hawkins has our story.

KEYONNA JONES, Owner, Soufside Creative: We are a tribe like a Black Wall Street tribe.

MORGAN HAWKINS (voice-over): Sycamore and Oak and Washington DC is a retail village showcasing 12 black owned businesses, ranging from a food market and art boutique to a gym.

It also serves as a community space that supports black entrepreneurs through training and mentorship.

KEYONNA JONES: Sycamore and Oak has been an incredible resource for myself and for my business coming in here as a small business.

It has been an incubator space where we learn all the professional things.

MORGAN HAWKINS (voice-over): This retail village opened in June of 2023, one of many black owned businesses to open in the past few years.

According to the city's annual business survey, the number of majority black owned businesses has gone by nearly 30 percent since 2017.

But black entrepreneurs still face struggles.

According to Bridget Weston, the CEO of Score, a nonprofit free mentor and educator for small businesses.

BRIDGET WESTON, SCORE: From what I can see in my role and in talking with black entrepreneurs across the country, unfortunately, a lot of the challenges that they see as entrepreneurs are the same that they face throughout the nation because of systemic issues that persist.

MORGAN HAWKINS (voice-over): According to the National Bureau of Economic Research during the first month of the COVID-19 pandemic, black owned businesses closed at a higher rate than any other race.

BRIDGET WESTON: Specifically, black entrepreneurs had bigger problems with the lack of childcare.

They had more challenges with people or either themselves their family or their staff being affected by COVID-19.

And unfortunately, they also had less access to the funds that were available to them to help their businesses survive during the pandemic.

MORGAN HAWKINS (voice-over): However, black entrepreneurship has come back at a higher rate than before the pandemic, according to The Washington Post.

Back at Sycamore and Oak in Washington, DC., Joe Houston has opened a gym that promotes holistic wellness.

JOE HOUSTON, Owner, Wefit DC: We talk about nutrition a lot and nutrition is highly important.

MORGAN HAWKINS (voice-over): Most people who live in the area around Sycamore and Oak are black.

These neighborhoods tend to be farther from a full service grocery store, or commercial gym than anywhere else in Washington, DC.

JOE HOUSTON: This facility is my first ever brick and mortar and being around a lot of different business owners is great, you know, especially business owners of colors that come from where I come from.

MORGAN HAWKINS (voice-over): Those who work at this retail village say that this business community helps with the well-being of customers and the well-being of each other.

KEYONNA JONES: I hope that black entrepreneurs they know that they have a space within each other and within tribe to thrive.

They keep me sharp, they're making sure that that I'm working at my highest potential and I'm grateful for that.

MORGAN HAWKINS (voice-over): For the PBS NewsHour Student Reporting labs, I'm Morgan Hawkins in Washington DC.