Trump orders undercut Black business gains – Florida Courier

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Updated: May 19, 2025 @ 8:32 am
Small business owners report declining expectations for real sales, fewer capital investment plans, and significant difficulties finding qualified labor.

Small business owners report declining expectations for real sales, fewer capital investment plans, and significant difficulties finding qualified labor.
A sharp decline in small business optimism, coupled with sweeping anti-DEI executive orders from the Trump administration, is creating new hurdles—particularly for African American entrepreneurs who remain vastly underrepresented in the U.S. economy.
According to  Pew Research Center, the number of U.S. firms with majority Black ownership surged from 124,004 in 2017 to 194,585 in 2022. Revenues al- so soared by 66%, reaching $211.8 billion. Yet Black-owned businesses still accounted for just 3% of all classifiable firms and only 1% of gross revenues that year, despite Black Americans making up 14% of the population. 
The policy environment compounds the problem for Black-owned firms. In January, President Trump signed executive orders EO 14151 and EO 14173, effectively dismantling many federal Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. These orders direct agency heads to align all federal programs— including contracts and grants—with so-called “merit-based opportunity,” opening the door to deprioritizing race-conscious support programs.
While the administration cannot eliminate statutory set-aside programs like the SBA’s 8(a) Small Disadvantaged Business designation without congressional approval, it is already moving to gut enforcement and reducing goals. SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler issued a memo in February announcing her intent to reduce the 8(a) contracting goal from 15% to the statutory minimum of 5%, citing alleged disadvantages to veteran-owned businesses.
The administration is also expected to cease auditing compliance with sub-contracting goals for minority-owned firms, which could severely impact opportunities for companies.
These moves are especially worrisome for Black business owners, who are already navigating barriers to access to capital and markets. While White-owned businesses make up 84% of all classifiable firms and account for 92% of total revenue, Black-owned businesses remain a small sliver.
With small business optimism waning and federal support shifting away from equity initiatives, many Black entrepreneurs now face a chilling reality: a promising rise in business creation and growth may be undermined by policy changes designed to erase the very programs that helped level the playing field.
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Gilliam Nii Lighter

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