Barriers and Benefits of MBE Contracting in Newark
david d. trout, clime director
March 25, 2022
Locally owned businesses are vital constituent members of an economic community because they provide jobs to local workers, sustain the tax base for city services, offer goods and services that grow other businesses and build wealth for equity owners. They are vital. Where they are in short supply communities struggle to grow economically. Where that growth has been stymied by factors arising from ingrained racism, growth is even more challenging. Local businesses owned by Blacks and other people of color face a disproportionate range of constraints to growth including, but not limited to, patterns of market discrimination. Given Newark’s overwhelmingly Black, Latino and working-class population, the city’s challenges with locally owned economic development are as great as anywhere in the nation. There is evidence that recent trends have not been good for minority small businesses across the country.
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