This study is a descriptive study which identifies the variables that inhibit participation by black merchants in a Retail Revitalization Loan Program (RRLP) that utilizes the public/private partnership concept. A sample of fifteen (15) black merchants were administered self-report questionnaires from a population of seventy (70) in Dallas, Texas through the stratified sampling method, utilizing SIC codes. From the response patterns of those surveyed, a Z-value was computed and tested at 1% level of significance, revealing that at least 85% of the black merchants identified conventional underwriting criteria as the primary cause for their lack of participation in the RRLP. Therefore, the null hypothesis was upheld.