National Archives This is historical material “frozen in time”. The website is no longer updated and links to external websites and some internal pages may not work.
Open Search

Fact Sheets

President Donald J. Trump’s Policies are Delivering Record-Breaking Economic Results for African Americans

Economy & Jobs

Issued on:

RECORD-BREAKING RESULTS: Under President Donald J. Trump, economic opportunity is soaring and unemployment is dropping for African Americans.

  • This year, African-American unemployment fell to a record low of 5.9 percent.
  • Total African-American employment has increased by 976,000 since President Trump’s election and stands at a record high.
  • The poverty rate for African Americans reached its lowest level on record in 2017.

INVESTING IN DISTRESSED COMMUNITIES: President Donald J. Trump’s Opportunity Zone Incentives are promoting investment in left-behind, economically distressed communities.

  • President Trump’s historic tax cut legislation included new Opportunity Zone Incentives to promote investment in economically distressed communities across the country.
  • Opportunity Zones offer tax incentives for businesses to invest in economically distressed communities, making them a powerful vehicle for economic growth and job creation.
    • Nearly 35 million Americans live in communities designated as Opportunity Zones.
    • 8,761 communities in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, and five United States territories have been designated as Opportunity Zones.
  • Through these tax incentives, we will jumpstart our American communities, create momentum for economic recovery, and attract investment to diverse areas across our Nation.

PROMOTING MINORITY-OWNED BUSINESS: Through job training, tax reform, and deregulation, President Donald J. Trump and his Administration are creating a better environment for minority-owned business.

  • President Trump is empowering minority business owners by eliminating a historic amount of unnecessary and burdensome regulations that too often hinder their growth.
  • Through the Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency, President Trump is delivering numerous new opportunities for minority business enterprises.
  • President Trump’s tax cuts included provisions that benefit minority-owned small businesses, a segment that contributes more than $1 trillion in annual economic output.
  • The President signed a memorandum dedicating at least $200 million a year to promote STEM education and especially benefitting women and minorities.

DELIVERING FOR HBCUs: President Donald J. Trump has made supporting our Nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) a key priority for his Administration.

  • In February 2017, President Trump signed an Executive Order on the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
    • The Executive Order moved the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities to the White House from the Department of Education.
    • This was the earliest Executive Order on HBCUs signed by any President.
  • Earlier this year, President Trump signed legislation that increased Federal funding to HBCU programs by more than 14 percent.
  • The President signed legislation that forgave more than $300 million in Hurricane Katrina related debt that threatened New Orleans, Louisiana, area HBCUs.