Minority, Black and Non-Black People of Color: ‘New’ Color-Blind Racism and the US Small Business Administration’s Approach to Minority Business Lending in the Post-Civil Rights Era

Abstract

This study examines the current approach of the US Small Business Administration (SBA) to minority lending and considers the implications for minority business development in the post-civil rights era. Interviews with SBA employees in Los Angeles and New York reveal that the SBA takes a ‘new’ color-blind approach that emphasizes race and minority status but fails to address racial stratification. I analyze the SBA’s conceptualization of minority, lending goals, outreach methods, and its reliance on banks to promote its loan program, revealing how these practices build upon and reinforce existing inequalities among people of color. Data suggests flexible approaches to minority business development by the SBA may ultimately be unhelpful for African Americans but useful for non-black people of color. The study concludes with the policy recommendation that the SBA create a direct loan program that explicitly promotes black business, with consideration given to the difficulties of having such a proposal adopted.