Consumer Boycotts target DEI retreats—are they working? What we know.
Consumer boycotts are targeting companies like Amazon and Target, who’ve rolled back DEI initiatives, but are they working? Here’s what we know.
- Shelby County and Memphis ended their Minority Women Business Enterprise (MWBE) programs due to a new state law.
- The Tennessee law prohibits local governments from implementing practices that promote discriminatory preferences based on diversity, equity, or inclusion.
- The MWBE programs aimed to increase government spending with minority-owned businesses.
Shelby County government and the City of Memphis quietly shut down their respective Minority Women Business Enterprise programs due to a newly enacted state law, a county commissioner and representatives of the city confirmed.
This past legislative session, Tennessee lawmakers passed the “Dismantling DEI Departments Act,” which bars local governments from having a practice in place that “promotes or requires discriminatory preferences in an effort to increase diversity, equity, or inclusion.”
Because of the state law, the MWBE programs ceased to exist as of July 1, the day the law took effect.
“The city of Memphis is operating in full accordance with state law and is awarding contracts based on lawful eligibility criteria,” Tannera Gibson, chief legal officer for the City of Memphis, said in a statement.
MWBE programs were intended to promote government spending with minority owned businesses. For some contracts, applicants had to show they were either minority owned or they were committed to subcontracting to minority businesses.
Shelby County Commissioner Britney Thornton confirmed the county program had been shuttered and voiced disappointment.
“I think that it’s just important for us to be able to acknowledge that we were already behind when we were trying to fight, and so now all the tools that we have to fight are being taken away,” Thorton said, referring to her fight to have more minority businesses represented in prime contracts for Shelby County government. “Does that mean the fight just stops?”
Thornton has taken time during numerous County Commission meetings to question Shelby County Government officials about who is receiving contracts from the county, highlighting that even with the MBWE program in place, the county did not spend enough money, in her opinion, with minority owned businesses.
In an email obtained by The Commercial Appeal, the Shelby County Office of Equal Opportunity Compliance told vendors there will be no MWBE certification numbers or Equal Opportunity Compliance numbers for vendors, which used to identify businesses as minority- or women-owned.
“Please be advised that Shelby County Ordinance 2-225, Minority Women Business Enterprise Program, is suspended indefinitely pursuant to TN Public Chapters 458 and 494,” the email read. “Your compliance with the MWBE Ordinance is no longer required at this time.”
The MWBE program was suspended in 2020 due to a lawsuit from a group of contractors that had argued it resulted in discrimination against white-owned businesses. It was brought back in 2022 after a settlement and a study to justify the existence of the program.
Thornton said that she was told in future commission meetings she cannot “speak about” the MWBE program or question what businesses were receiving contracts.
The program hoped to increase minority spending in contracts with Shelby County government. The study, released in 2022, showed that Black American businesses were underutilized in prime contracts across all five categories considered: construction, architectural and engineering, professional services, other services and goods.
Asian American, Hispanic American and Native American businesses were also shown to have been underutilized in prime contracts.
Memphis Mayor Paul Young said in a statement that while race and gender-conscious programs are no longer permitted in the state, the city remains committed to supporting small and locally owned businesses.
“We continue to prioritize Memphis-based firms to drive economic growth and remain focused on creating opportunities that showcase the strength of our local economy,” Young said.
Brooke Muckerman covers education and children’s issues for The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at brooke.muckerman@commercialappeal.com.
