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With devastating rollbacks of civil rights in full force, it’s not surprising that the orange
occupant of the White House has called for the dismantling of the Minority Business
Development Agency (MBDA). After decades of progress made by women and minority
business owners, federal funding has ceased.
Despite Black entrepreneurs having significantly less capital than their white
counterparts to run their businesses, a federal Texas judge appointed by Donald Trump
ruled against minority business funding. While acknowledging that Black entrepreneurs
are clearly at a disadvantage, he concluded that there was insufficient evidence that
government policies contributed to these disparities.
So here we are, once again, watching years of civil rights actions reversed, without any
act of Congress, right-wing extremists illegally taking away programs that the
Administration is directed to implement.
There was a time, in fact, just 4 months ago, when Joe Biden was our president, that
women and men certified as minority business owners had a fair shot of getting
government contracts. Under Biden’s administration alone, the MBDA helped provide
23,000 jobs and $3.2 billion in contracts to minority enterprises, according to Inc.
Being government-certified meant something. It lent confidence and prestige to small
businesses. It bolstered the reputation of marginalized entrepreneurs and opened the
door to an exclusive club that they would not have otherwise been allowed to enter.
Without this safety net, many small women and minority-owned businesses won’t be
able to stay in business.
Now that the Trump administration has once again gutted an agency designed to benefit
women and minorities, the question remains, “Where do we go from here?” The only
clear answer I can offer is one that I’ve been stating a lot recently: We have to stick
together. I cannot emphasize this enough!
Back in the early 1900s—way before the MBDA was even a thing—Black businesses were
thriving in Tulsa, Chicago, Durham, Atlanta and Little Rock, to name a few. Black
people had their own stores, gas stations, hospitals and schools—everything they needed
to live decently. There were no government agencies to pitch in. Yet, the towns
flourished. They bought and sold to each other, and that was enough.
The times that we live in demand nothing less than total commitment to unity. As we
commit to taking back what is rightfully ours, let’s not forget the one thing we have
left—each other.
