Cable giant Comcast has pledged to help 80 small Black-owned businesses in metro Atlanta with consulting, media and creative production services in the coming year.

Called Comcast Rise, the Philadelphia-based company plans to spend millions helping Black-owned companies that it says have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic ― including restaurants, salons and professional services.

Rise is part of Comcast’s $100 million diversity, equity and inclusion initiative it launched last summer in the wake of protests over racial and economic injustice.

Metro Atlanta-area businesses getting help include Harold’s Chicken and Ice Bar in Marietta, for which Comcast will help supply media services; and Atlanta skincare company Harlem Zen, which will receive Comcast consulting support.

“We are thrilled to support Black-owned small businesses here in Atlanta through the Comcast RISE program,” Comcast Regional Senior Vice President Jason Gumbs in a press release. “This program was created with the intention of helping small businesses impacted by the pandemic navigate this very challenging time.”

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