1. Making Section 3 a Reality:  We have begun our project on making the nation comply with Section 3 of the HUD Act.  This employment and contracting opportunity legislation has been on the books since 1968 but after 41 years HUD has yet to enforce it.  So, we are going to make them.  We thank the US Chamber of Commerce for joining us in this task.  Together we will get it done.  This week the NBCC filed formal Section 3 complaints against these California entities:  State of California, Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles, Housing Authority of the County of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Glendale, Pomona, Inglewood, Pasadena, South Gate, Compton, Hawthorne, Huntington Park, Lynwood, Downey, Alhambra, Huntington Beach, Lancaster, Santa Monica, West Covina, Bellflower, Carson, Montebello, Monterey Park, Lakewood, Thousand Oaks, Cerritos, Glendora and Norwalk. 

Remember the Watts Riot and the Rodney King Riot were the catalysts for the enactment of Section 3 and later the strengthening of it.  So it is quite glaring that the municipalities within Los Angeles County choose to ignore the law (waiting on the third riot).  In addition to those California entities we have also filed complaints against Milwaukee, Housing Authority of Milwaukee, County of Milwaukee, Detroit, Detroit Housing Authority, Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority, City of Jacksonville, FL and the City of Jacksonville Housing Authority.  These trifling places did not even bother to send in their required Section 3 Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2008.  If your town, county or housing authority has not done so then a complaint from the NBCC is coming.  California alone has 229 governmental agencies receiving funding from HUD but only 41 (17.9%) have even bothered filling out a report much less comply.  We are going to force the “change”.  If Section 3 was complied with we would have 100,000 additional jobs (African Americans alone) in our communities and over $2 billion in contracts each and every year.

2. Title VI Enforcement:  We are forming a Construction Committee to lead the way in Title VI enforcement at the local level.  Samuel Foley of Philadelphia and Anthony Robinson of Baltimore will head up this committee.  This week we will be filing formal Title VI complaints against racist CALTRANS (California Department of Transportation or The Klan) and IDOT (Illinois Department of Transportation).  We will be asking the Justice Department to do thorough investigations.  This is a start.  If state departments of transportation would comply with Title VI we would have an additional 500,000 jobs in our communities and $3 billion in contracts each and every year.

3. Deodorizing California:  By now you have picked up on it.  We are going to give California a thorough “scrubbing” and wash away the discrimination that has blanketed the state.  If it is federal money, a federal program or a federal benefit; you can’t discriminate and we don’t give a damn about Proposition 209.  The NBCC is going to audit every airport, port authority, transportation system, university, city, county, housing authority, major hospital, school system and the state government itself.  So tell the gate keepers, scaredy cats, bigots, naysayers and their like that the NBCC is coming to “Cali” and things are about to become very different.  Watch us do our thing for our businesses in California from now through the end of 2010.  This will become a model for other states which have not caught up with the Civil Rights Movement. 

4.   Fall Summit in San Diego:  We are taking charge of California at the Fall Summit. The agenda is taking form and the hotel rate at the US Grant has been extended until October 12.  Call (866) 837-4270 and ask for the NBCC rate.  Click here for more info.