Michael Brown expects he will have to close his Black-owned union construction business by the end of next year.
Craig Williams said his firm, Pride Enterprises, a Norristown-based general contractor, has seen a “sharp decline” in opportunities to partner with larger companies on major projects.
Both men blame national and local shifts in diversity, equity and inclusion policies, including Mayor Cherelle Parker’s decision last year to abandon race- and gender-based contracting preferences.
“Today minority businesses across Philadelphia are witnessing a catastrophic erosion of market share, pushing foundational enterprises to the brink of collapse,” said Brown, a partner in the 360 Group of Companies.
Williams’ other enterprise, American Power Electrical Supply Co., has experienced a 40% drop in local revenue over the past year. In the same time period, sales at the firm’s New York warehouse have doubled; he said the Empire State “remains a DEI stronghold” in spite of the Trump administration’s attempts to dismantle the diversity framework.
“Both of my companies have benefited tremendously from affirmative action and diversity, equity, inclusion policies and initiatives,” Williams said. “My concern is primarily focused on the emerging businesses that need that support to scale and the generations that are coming behind us that may not have the resources available to them that were so critical to the development of my businesses.”
Brown and Williams were among the minority business owners who testified Monday morning before a special committee established by City Council in 2024 to examine DEI policies in the government and private sectors.
Harold T. Epps, a senior advisor at Bellevue Strategies and co-chair of the committee, said the body “has found persistent structural barriers” facing minority-, woman- and disabled-owned companies.
During a two-hour hearing at City Hall, industry leaders discussed access to financing, bundling of municipal contracts and delays in processing payments to prime and sub contractors.
Members of the committee were tasked with coming up with a report for lawmakers, and they approved a lengthy document Monday. Legislative staff said they needed to finalize corrections before releasing it to the public. The report is expected to be posted online in the coming days, and interested parties can also reach out to the Council President’s Office for a mailed copy.
In November, the Parker administration transformed the city’s 40-year-old minority-, women-, and disabled-owned enterprise (M/W/DSBE) initiative into a program favoring small and local businesses. City officials cited legal risks stemming from a number of recent rulings, including the 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down affirmative action in college admissions. The policy helps to guide the billions City Hall spends on contracts every year.
Nadir Jones, director of Parker’s Office of Business Impact and Economic Advancement, said the city has four tiers of small firms, ranging from those earning less than $1 million in annual revenue up to $47 million.
“Those caps put significant impediments on businesses having the potential to scale,” Epps responded.
Jones said the administration is developing “middle market” regulations to incorporate diverse and local companies that may have graduated out of the “small” category. Later, Council President Kenyatta Johnson expressed his “supreme confidence” in Jones’ leadership of the small and local initiative.
Voters in November’s general election will be weighing a ballot question authorizing bid preferences and contract set-asides for small and local enterprises.
Donna Allie, founder and president of Team Clean Inc., a janitorial business, asserted that the problem may not be public contracts. About 80% of her firm’s work is with the City of Philadelphia.
“The challenge is the private sector,” she testified. “I don’t golf with them. I don’t eat at the same restaurants. I ain’t from the same neighborhood.”
Maria Roberts, a member of the special committee and leader of MFR Consultants, noted that there was only one representative on a panel at Monday’s hearing focused on “private sector participation models and effects.”
“This city, this region has got to do better in supporting its women, minorities and all of its citizens,” she said. “The government is doing the best it can, but private industry has got to be in the ring and be an active participant.”
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