Alexandria's Minority-Owned Business Grant Program To Be Revised After Lawsuit

ALEXANDRIA, VA — The City of Alexandria's grant program for Black, Indigenous and people of color-owned small businesses had been withdrawn after a lawsuit filed in federal court.

In a statement Monday, the city said the program would not proceed as proposed. The city plans to share plans for a new program in the coming months.

"Upon review of the lawsuit and the program, we have decided we will not launch the program as currently proposed," the city government stated. "Instead, we will review options to use this funding to meet the needs of our diverse small business community in a more comprehensive and sustainable way, and look forward to launching a program that achieves that goal."

Alexandria-based engineering, logistics, and program management firm Tridentis had filed the lawsuit in January, claims the city's BIPOC Small Business Grant Program is illegal. The lawsuit cites the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, which prohibits discrimination based on race. According to the complaint filed in Alexandria federal court, the white-owned firm cannot be eligible to the program due to race.

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares filed an amicus brief in support of the lawsuit, calling the grant program a "blatant violation of the Equal Protection Clause."

The Washington Post reported that the city made an agreement with Tridentis, noting the grant program proposal was a violation of the 14th Amendment.

The program, which was set to launch Jan. 26 before the lawsuit, was geared toward small businesses in the City of Alexandria with at least 51 percent Black, indigenous and people of color ownership. The grant amounts between $1,000 and $7,000 would have been available for business expenses such as working capital, inventory costs, rent, taxes, marketing efforts, technological advancements, business consultants, business growth and more. It would have been funded from $500,000 in contingent reserve funds set aside by City Council.

The lawsuit received pushback from supporters of Alexandria's minority-owned business program, including the Alexandria Minority Business Association and Social Responsibility Group. The Alexandria Minority Business Association, which was formed in response to disproportionate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on minority-owned businesses, provided feedback to the city on how minority-owned businesses could be supported. The grant program was one of the ideas that City Council moved forward with.

Kevin Harris, the Alexandria Minority Business Association's founder, told the Washington Post the new program the city is developing should be "funded substantially enough that it sends the message clearly that Alexandria values our BIPOC-business community and that Alexandria is committed to equity and inclusion regardless of the opposition."