African Americans make up nearly 15 percent of the U.S. population. However, federal small-business contracting, award ratios within this community are in the single digits.
Small businesses, once called the “drivers and engines of growth” by President Barack Obama, attract about $98.2 billion in government awards annually. Black-owned companies receive only about 7 percent of that total, or roughly $7.1 billion. This is a national disgrace and a form of economic disenfranchisement.
Reinvesting our dollars back into the community will spur more growth with potential to mitigate the highest unemployment rate of all the communities within the nation. A staggering 10.4 percent of African Americans are unemployed
This a national crisis that deserves with swift and immediate action.