The White House announced a plan to invest billions in order to support Black and minority owned small businesses on Tuesday ( June 1). President Joe Biden’s American Jobs Plan will invest in Small Business Administration initiatives that will “reduce barriers to small business ownership and success,” according to a statement from the administration.

The program will feature a number of platforms to offer economic support to businesses which will address racial discrimination in the housing market, increase federal contracting with small businesses by 50 percent. It will also place focus on the American Jobs Plan by proposing a $10 billion Community Revitalization Fund; supply $15 billion for new grants toward rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure; and $31 billion for small business programs to increase capital for small businesses.

“These initiatives will increase access to capital by establishing a new direct loan program for the smallest businesses, developing new loan products to support small manufacturers and businesses that invest in clean energy, and launching a new Small Business Investment Corporation that will make early stage equity investments in small businesses with priority for those owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals,” according to the White House.
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The announcement came as President Biden visited the Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma at the 100 year anniversary of the racist massacre that took place there. The Biden administration promises that making for a more level playing field for Black businesses is one of their priorities.

“The American Jobs Plan will also invest billions of dollars in SBA technical assistance programs that incubate and offer mentoring and technical assistance to 8(a) firms, reinforce the American subcontracting network to create pathways to prime contracting, encourage Fortune 500 firms to diversify their procurements, and bring more socially and economically disadvantaged businesses into federal research and development programs,” according to the White House statement.  “These investments will also include an innovative new $1 billion grant program through the Minority Business Development Agency that will help minority-owned manufacturers access private capital.”