Memphis Ends Minority Women Enterprise Program Because Of DEI  

While much has been said about the Trump administration’s assault on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), there have been equally regressive moves within state governments across America. As a result of Tennessee’s DEI ban going into effect this month, Memphis’ Minority Women Enterprise program was quietly shuttered this week. 

According to WMC Memphis, the Minority Women Enterprise Program promoted and encouraged government spending at businesses owned by Black and non-white women. The program quietly ended on Monday due to the state legislature passing the Dismantling DEI Departments Act. I tried going to the Minority Women Enterprise Program’s website for more information on the assistance it provided, but the link now redirects to Memphis’s Office of Contract Compliance. 

The Dismantling DEI Departments Act was sponsored by Tennessee House Republican Aron Maberry, who said, “DEI programs, while claiming to support inclusion, often create division and inequality. Dismantling them is a meaningful step toward a more united, merit-based future, and I’m proud to lead this effort for the Volunteer State.” 

I’m just saying, the only division I’ve seen is white folks crying over Black people not facing the roadblocks historically in their way when starting a business, seeking an education, and generally just trying to survive in America. 

Shelby County Commissioner Britney Thornton expressed concern that ending Memphis’ Minority Women Enterprise Program will have negative consequences for a city with such a large Black population. 

“Now that we are enforcing something that is going to take away so much of the progress we had been making. That’s the part that concerns me. We had the program. We were starting to train individuals on how to get county contracts and how to get city contracts, where the resources were, and now, we are being told by legal we can’t even talk about it,” Thornton told WMC. 

Memphis really cut off its nose to spite its face with this move. Only last week, a report revealed Memphis is the only city in America where women own more small businesses than men. Over the last two years, Black women have been one of the fastest-growing demographics when it comes to small business ownership. The data proves investing in Black women is simply good business, and Memphis was building a framework that should’ve been applied nationwide. Ending the Minority Women Enterprise Program is yet another instance of white folks making decisions based on their feelings rather than data. 

Memphis isn’t the only city where these changes are happening, as Orlando suspended its Minority and Women Enterprise program in June. The city cites changes to federal law under the Trump administration as the reason for the suspension. Several businesses that applied for the program or are currently enrolled in it are now in limbo and unsure of what happens next. 

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from being raised by Black women and having several Black women instrumental in my career growth (including NewsOne’s lovely Monique Judge), it’s that they will always find a way. With or without a Minority Women Enterprise Program, Black women in Memphis will continue to keep it pushing. Sherrye Smith, a Black woman who owns a business and mentors other Black women business owners in Memphis, told WMC the Memphis business community is doing just that.  

“We had to come together. And in doing so, a woman picks up the phone and says, ‘Hey, Mrs. Sherrye, do you know how to do A, B, C, and D?’ If I don’t know how to do it, I know how to call someone else who has already been there. It hasn’t stopped us; it slowed the wheel down,” Smith told WMC.

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