Atlanta has been setting goals for minority participation in city contracting since the 1970s, when it created an office dedicated to contract compliance — one of the first cities in the country to do so. The program is called Equal Business Opportunity, and its job is to make sure that the businesses building and serving the city reflect the city.

How it works

On covered city contracts, the program sets participation goals for certified minority- and women-owned business enterprises and requires the winning bidder to document its outreach, its subcontracts and its payments. Firms have to be certified before their work counts toward a goal, and the city publishes participation reports on individual projects. The program operates inside the legal limits set by the Supreme Court's 1989 decision in City of Richmond v. J.A. Croson Co., which requires a documented basis for race-conscious contracting measures.

What it means for a Black-owned firm

For contractors and professional-service firms, certification is the entry point: it is what allows a company to bid, to be counted toward goals and to be listed in the city's directory of eligible firms. The practical constraint is capacity — bonding, insurance and cash flow — which is why the city's programs also include support for joint ventures and smaller firms.