COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina minority business leaders are reacting with a mix of concern and cautious optimism after Gov. Henry McMaster signed an executive order ending race-based quota systems and designations in state contracting.

For longtime business owner Diane Sumpter, the order landed less as a financial change and more as an emotional and symbolic one.

“When I heard the order and read it, I immediately thought of impact. And the impact is not a financial impact. It's a communications impact. It's a spiritual impact. It's an impact of wondering where do we really fit,” said Sumpter, president and CEO of DESA Inc. a Columbia-based professional services firm,

Sumpter said many of the minority-owned businesses she works with have not had contracts with the state and did not e

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