Across Boston’s vibrant neighborhoods, Black-owned businesses that once saw a surge of support following the 2020 racial justice movement are now experiencing a troubling decline in patronage and investment. The enthusiasm that briefly transformed storefronts and boosted sales has faded, leaving many entrepreneurs questioning the sustainability of what appeared to be meaningful change.
According to recent reporting from the Boston Business Journal, this retreat in support extends beyond consumer spending to encompass venture capital, corporate partnerships, and institutional procurement. The trend mirrors national patterns but carries particular significance in Boston, a city with persistent racial wealth disparities and a complex history of economic segregation.
“What we’re seeing now is essentially a regression to pre-2020 levels of engagement,” explains Marcus Johnson, director of the Massachusetts Black Business Alliance. “The initial surge was encouraging, but lasting economic integration requires sustained commitment, not momentary response to social pressure.”
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston data shows that Black entrepreneurs in Massachusetts face significantly higher loan rejection rates than their white counterparts—41% versus 16%—even when controlling for credit scores and business performance. This fundamental barrier to capital hasn’t meaningfully improved despite corporate pledges following 2020’s racial reckoning.
Venture capital flows reveal an equally troubling pattern. Black founders in Boston received just 1.2% of all venture funding in 2022, down from a peak of 3.5% in late 2020, according to Crunchbase data. This retraction comes despite evidence that diverse founding teams often outperform homogeneous ones, delivering higher returns on investment.
For Shauna Davis, owner of Roxbury’s Nubian Square Market, the fluctuation in support has created operational challenges. “During 2020, we saw customers from neighborhoods that had never ventured to this part of the city. We expanded inventory, hired staff. Now, those same customers have largely disappeared, but our overhead remains.”
Davis isn’t alone. A survey conducted by Boston’s Office of Economic Opportunity found that 62% of Black business owners reported decreased non-local customer traffic compared to 2021 levels. Meanwhile, only 28% of businesses that secured corporate contracts in 2020-2021 have seen those relationships extended or expanded.
The implications extend beyond individual businesses. Black-owned enterprises typically employ higher percentages of Black workers and locate in predominantly Black neighborhoods, meaning their success or failure directly impacts community wealth creation and economic mobility.
Eastern Bank Foundation President Nancy Huntington Stager points to systemic challenges that outlast momentary attention. “Sustainable support requires addressing structural barriers—banking relationships, supplier diversity programs, procurement policies. These systems change slowly and only with intentional, measured effort.”
Some institutions have maintained their commitments. The Boston Foundation’s Business Equity Fund continues providing growth capital to Black and Latino businesses, while the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation has expanded its small business loan program targeting underserved entrepreneurs.
City officials have responded with initiatives aimed at institutional change rather than consumer campaigns. Boston’s Economic Opportunity Director Segun Idowu has focused on reforming municipal procurement policies, resulting in a 43% increase in city contracts awarded to minority-owned businesses since 2021.
“Consumer spending is valuable but volatile,” notes Idowu. “We’re prioritizing systemic changes that create lasting opportunities regardless of social trends or media attention.”
For entrepreneurs like James Wilson, who opened his Dorchester technology services firm in 2019, the experience has been educational if painful. “The surge showed us what’s possible when barriers fall, even temporarily. The decline demonstrates how quickly progress reverses without structural change.”
Wilson has pivoted his business development strategy to focus on building relationships with other minority-owned businesses rather than pursuing corporate diversity initiatives that proved ephemeral. “We’re building our own economic ecosystem based on mutual support and shared growth goals.”
The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston has initiated a research project tracking both patronage patterns and institutional support for minority-owned businesses, aiming to identify which interventions produce lasting impact versus those that generate only temporary results.
Despite setbacks, community leaders see potential for recovery through more sophisticated approaches. The Black Economic Council of Massachusetts has developed a certification program helping businesses prepare for larger contracts and capital investments, addressing readiness gaps that sometimes undermined initial opportunities.
“The enthusiasm of 2020 created openings, but many businesses weren’t structured to capitalize on sudden growth,” explains Council President Denzil Mohammed. “We’re now focusing on building capacity alongside advocacy, ensuring businesses can sustain expanded opportunities when they arrive.”
As Boston confronts this support decline, the path forward appears to require both renewed consumer commitment and deeper institutional reform—a dual approach that acknowledges both personal responsibility and systemic change in creating a more equitable economy.
