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AbstractSince 1969, the procurement powers of government have been used proactively to assist minority-owned businesses. Originating in the U.S. Small Business Administration, the practice of targeting procurement contracts to minority-owned business enterprises (MBEs) has expanded throughout government and corporate America. Compared to other minorities, Black-owned firms have been the most active participants. Preferential procurement has been controversial for decades, and its effectiveness for assisting bona fide MBEs has been repeatedly questioned. "Front-company" abuses have received abundant media attention; allegations of reverse discrimination have inspired legal challenges; the judiciary has often thrown out procurement preferences targeted to minorities. Less attention has focused on understanding whether racially targeted procurement preferences have assisted minority-owned businesses.As the multi-billion dollar government and corporate procurement market opened up, employment in Black-owned firms operating in the impacted industries soared. Growing access to procurement opportunities encouraged firm creation and expansion. Government entities operating successful programs actively screened out front firms, eased bonding requirements, downsized and unbundled contracts, and paid MBE vendor invoices promptly. In the process, they effectively lowered key barriers limiting MBE participation in mainstream procurement markets. Well-designed and administered programs succeeded because they created a less discriminatory environment, thus allowing talented entrepreneurs to build large firms. Problems notwithstanding, preferential procurement programs have been highly successful, and this success is a reflection of declining barriers unleashing the creativity of new generations of Black entrepreneurs.

AbstractOne objective of this study is to investigate whether Black drivers are more likely than White motorists to receive traffic tickets and to be arrested following routine traffic stops in the Detroit suburb of Eastpointe, Michigan. Compared to White drivers, Blacks were more likely to be arrested and ticketed when police officer discretion was most pronounced. My broader objective is to explore police enforcement of racialized space in suburban Detroit. Outcomes of routine traffic stops were analyzed to determine whether enforcement of racialized space could be detected by comparing how drivers were treated on Eastpointe streets that were more, opposed to less, White. Black motorists driving on internal streets were more likely to attract police attention than those driving along Eastpointe's border street with Detroit, Eight Mile Road, which is interpreted as evidence that Black drivers are more likely to be ticketed, searched, and arrested when they were "out of place".

Specialized small business investment companies (SSBICs) are privately owned companies that are funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration to finance minority-owned businesses. Most SSBICs began operations as nonviable companies, inherently limited in their ability to serve the range of capital needs of small firms in their targeted markets. Most of the SSBICs chartered over the last 26 years are out of business today. In the midst of this generally dismal industry, some SSBICs are growing substantially and operating profitably from their returns on minority business investments. This article differentiates the successful SSBICs from the failures.

This analysis reveals traits of small businesses that received state and local governmental assistance. Among firms owned by nonminorities, the larger small businesses receive aid, and those aided by state or local governments are more likely than unassisted firms to remain in operation, even when one controls for various firm and owner characteristics. These patterns did not typify minority-owned firms. State and local governmental aid flows disproportionately to women-owned businesses and to firm owners who have also received federal governmental assistance. No evidence was found indicating targeting of assistance to specific industry groups.

Social resources available from peer and community support networks may have little impact on small-business viability. In this study, the author finds that differences between Korean-immigrant-owned small businesses and African-American firms exist because Korean entrepreneurs are more apt to be highly educated and wealthy. Koreans invest heavily in small businesses, but their returns are often meager; per dollar of invested capital, the sales and profits of Korean firms lag behind those of African-Americans. Self-employment appears to be a form of underemployment for many Koreans.