*In Texas, a federal judge has mandated that a U.S. agency serving minority-owned businesses extend its services without regard to race.
According to The Hill, Judge Mark T. Pittman of the Northern District of Texas contended that the Minority Business Development Agency’s (MBDA) eligibility criteria violated the Fifth Amendment’s equal protection guarantees.
The agency aids minority-owned businesses in securing financing and government contracts. The judge’s ruling favors white business owners who believe the program is discriminatory. The Hill reports that the MBDA assisted businesses in raising over $1.2 billion in fiscal 2022.
The ruling marked a significant triumph for racist white conservative activists aiming to create roadblocks for race-conscious programs following the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to dismantle affirmative action programs in colleges.
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Black business owners and entrepreneurs of color contend that the ruling represents a regression in creating an equitable business environment amid challenges in launching and maintaining their ventures.
As The Hill reports, Judge Pittman, appointed by former President Trump, asserted that the MBDA and the federal government have infringed upon constitutional rights “for years” and stated, “Time’s up.”
In the ruling, Pittman instructed the agency to cease utilizing the “racial and ethnic classifications” and no longer consider a business applicant’s race or ethnicity “in determining eligibility for Business Center programming.”
The judge noted that the agency’s work “may help alleviate opportunity gaps” that Black business owners face, but “two wrongs do not make a right,” he wrote, per The Hill.
Actress and civil rights advocate Amanda Seales reacted to the ruling in a video shared on Instagram (see above). She captioned the clip: “Fitting on the anniversary of the Dres Scott case which unequivocally said Black people have no rights over their bodies, this case would suggest that discrimination does not continue to play a significant role in impacting the constant quest for equality in this nation. There are always laws that have SPECIFICALLY named Black people in their hindrance but when it is about protection or elevation we are never named.”
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