Socially disadvantaged individuals are defined as those who have been, historically, the target of negative prejudice based on their race or ethnicity within the larger American culture.
According to the SBA a socially disadvantaged person is someone “…who has been subjected to racial or ethnic prejudice or cultural bias within American society, because of their identification as a member of a group without regard to their individual qualities.” The following groups are considered to be socially disadvantaged by the SBA:
- Black Americans
- Hispanic Americans
- Native Americans
- Asian Pacific Americans
- Subcontinent Asian American