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A Time to Revive Executive Order 11246 |
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A Time to Revive Executive Order 11246 It was a very sad time when the second Clinton Administration decided to put Executive Order 11246 on a “shelf”. It was done with boldness and the traditional civil rights organizations would not let this betrayal come between them and their enduring love affair for Clinton Era. Because of this cancellation, Black employment has been terribly stifled and, in these rough times, it is devastating. Executive Order 11246 was issued in 1962 by President John F. Kennedy in his successful attempt to integrate contractors doing business with the federal government. By definition: “Executive Order 11246 (E.O. 11246) prohibits federal contractors and subcontractors and federally-assisted construction contractors and subcontractors that generally have contracts that exceed $10,000 from discriminating in employment decisions on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It also requires covered contractors to take affirmative action to ensure that equal opportunity is provided in all aspects of their employment. The E.O. 11246 is administered by the Employment Standards Administration’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) within the U.S. Department of Labor.” This was the instrument used in 1969 by the great Arthur Fletcher (Deputy Assistant Secretary, Dept. of Labor) when he implemented affirmative action through the Philadelphia Plan. From Philadelphia he went to every urban center in the nation and put the unions and others on notice. Integrate your employment practices or lose your federal contracts. It created employment opportunities for millions of Blacks, women and other people of color at all levels – laborers, managers, white collar, executive, etc. It changed the whole “complexion” of the American workforce and this nation became better for that. The biggest resistance came from the construction unions. So, it was no surprise that it was their big “wallets” that silenced the traditional civil rights groups and cajoled the Clinton Administration into a conspiracy of noncompliance. The biggest and most egregious act was the following setup. Blacks were appointed as Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Transportation. Then they ordered them to put Executive Order 11246 to rest. It was outright canceled in February, 1999, by the Federal Highway Administration (division of Transportation). It said it was not their responsibility but the US Department of Labor’s. Labor never stepped forward and the fix was in. At the same time they neutered Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act. How many Black youth have been denied an opportunity to enter the construction trades through the availability of highway, street and bridge construction? It is in the millions. The first Clinton Administration had the Honorable Robert Reich as its Secretary of Labor. He was very committed and brilliant. He enforced E.O. 11246 with a vengeance. He even published every quarter the “Bottom 10” list of corporations with the most egregious noncompliance of E.O. 11246. The Department of Labor started fining and litigating against companies that wouldn’t comply. After four years he resigned and subsequently wrote a book about his frustrations. The backlash was the above. So, here we are today with the federal government doing very little to enforce this great piece of Civil Rights law. You don’t hear the NAACP complaining. You don’t hear the National Urban League complaining. You don’t hear the SCLC complaining. Where is the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights? The Congressional Black Caucus, who actually has a member that chairs the oversight of the US Department of Transportation, doesn’t utter a word or lift a finger. This has got to change. The first thing we need to do is call them out. I am doing my initial share with this article and challenge any of the above groups to prove me wrong or to show what they have done to enforce compliance of E.O. 11246. The big problem is the union money is too good even though it is, in effect, bad money. You can get addicted on bad money and it will make you do bad things. As the O’Jays sing “money will make you do bad, bad things with it; money can even drive you right out of your mind”. It can also make you ignore bad situations or sell out the very people you claim to serve. Your mission can be rendered useless. It is indeed refreshing to hear President Elect Obama say, “We need a Justice Department that will administer justice; we need a Civil Rights Office that will enforce civil rights”. I hope and pray that my expectations of this new leader will be met. Let’s restore Executive Order 11246. The construction unions will have to come along this time even if they are kicking and screaming. Their money is no longer good. Let us all start beating the “drum”. Our fathers and mothers sacrificed too much to get us included in the laws. If we must fight to keep those gains then let us begin to fight. Our future depends on that. Mr. Alford is the co-founder, President/CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce, Inc. Website: www.nationalbcc.org. |
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A Leader for the Entire World |
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A Leader for the Entire World This article was written a few days before the Presidential Election. The following is risky but I am a man of extreme faith. I had a confession to make to my dear wife, Kay. We are quite open and transparent with our expenses and revenue. But I had been keeping something from her for a couple of days. I finally blurted out “I gave the maximum to the Obama Campaign fund”. She immediately replied with glee, “I did too! I did it last week.” We hugged. I then called my two sons and asked if they had given to the Obama Campaign. They responded with, “Hasn’t everyone, why of course Dad?” So it is this new phenomenon that is encompassing the entire globe. The excitement and euphoria that a person of color shall be elected the leader of the entire free world has 75% (according to the Washington Post) of the international world hoping and praying for the election of Barack Hussein Obama. It’s not just that he is a person of color. It is the message he delivers and the past he has experienced. With any historical leader, their upbringing and experiences served a purpose but neither could have been predictable. Who would have thought that Moses, a prestigious African would be the one to lead the Hebrews out of Egypt? Who would have thought that Mahatma Gandhi, a recipient of a British law degree and practicing attorney in South Africa, would be the one to lead India away from the British Empire? Nelson Mandela languished 28 years in prison only to come out and lead South Africa to true democracy. Dr. Martin Luther King was a studious individual from a bourgeois family and ignored by the consensus of fellow ministers but it did not deter him from leading this nation to a righteous conscience and the Civil Rights Act – an accomplishment that sprung Senator or President Obama’s seeds of opportunity. I truly believe that God, the Almighty, has sent Barack to us. The timing is right as the world is in turmoil. A turmoil that will not be solved by war but by reasoning, leadership and example and the whole world is anxiously waiting. We have economic issues that affect every village, town, city and nation throughout the globe. Our energy future is one big question mark. It is 2008 and we cannot deliver a viable and effective healthcare system to the people of the world. We need change! This messenger has delivered a theme that addresses that very thing. My only regret is that my parents are not here to witness this. They were born sharecroppers in rural Louisiana and were not offered any education beyond the 8th grade. School was only for three months per year (winter) as the other nine months were to be spent in the fields. It was the same life their parents lived which was better than the lives of their grandparents who were all born in slavery. Things have certainly changed due to the sacrifice and courage of true leaders. Now, we have a new leader. A leader to change these current times and challenges and it is all up to us. The whole world is counting on the United States. To do less than elect Barack Obama will lessen our stature in the world. It is our destiny to elect him. This Hero is the son of a Luo tribesman from Kenya (his namesake) and a white lady from small town Kansas. He grew up in Kansas, Texas, Hawaii and Indonesia. It wasn’t easy and at times rather rough –without his father and surviving on food stamps. He learned from those experiences and when the opportunities presented themselves he matured into it. Occidental College, Columbia and then Harvard Law were his choices and he worked hard to do it. His affinity for community development and fighting for the common folk of the world have shaped his adulthood. He also has the fortune of “marrying right”. A strong woman and two model children are his partners in this noble quest. It wasn’t quick for me to become a strong Obama fan. It has grown as the conditions of the world deteriorated and his words of reasoning started to make serious sense to me. Frankly, I might have voted for him just because he is Black. But honestly, I support him because he is the best person for the job (no offense to all who contested against him) and his being Black is simply “frosting on the cake”. But let’s not underestimate the overall impact of Obama being a person of color. No more can a young Black child reason that he or she cannot achieve their goals. From here on out, the sky is the limit! Whether you are a tribesman in an African village; a goat herder in Asia; an indigenous person of South America or a Black child living in North Milwaukee create your dreams and remember the audacity of Hope. God bless America and the entire world. Lead on Barack Hussein Obama. Mr. Alford is the co-founder, President/CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce, Inc. Website: www.nationalbcc.org. |
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Does Your Community Have a Viable Black Chamber Yet? |
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Does Your Community Have a Viable Black Chamber Yet? There are Black chambers here - and - there and they have been in existence since the first one, Harlem Chamber of Commerce, in 1899. Usually they come and go depending on their leadership base and succession plan from CEO to CEO. I have seen excellent and effective chambers contribute much to its city until a sitting CEO passes away and is succeeded by an inept leader or visionary. It doesn’t take long for the organization to fall apart. Good By-Laws, Articles of Incorporation, Strategic Plan and dynamic entrepreneurs participating on the Board of Directors are essential keys to the making of a dynamic local Black chamber of commerce. It is no place for egos or hidden agendas. A Black chamber of commerce should create and provide to the populace a “barometer” of the economic activity of its community. Are Black businesses getting their fair share of local government procurement, state procurement, federal procurement, major corporation procurement, school systems procurement, etc. and, most of all, doing business with each other. As the participation levels increases so should job opportunity and retail development for the applicable citizens and this provides prosperity for the masses and not just a few. As an example, in Indiana we got several prisons to contract with various Black dentists, MD’s, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, butcher shop owners, construction maintenance companies, office supply companies, chemical companies, janitorial supply companies and many more Black owned businesses like never before. It was right there all the time. It just took organization and proper presentation. Sometimes it took a few demands but we got the job done. The same went for hospitals, universities and major corporations. We even got Indianapolis Public Schools to hire three Black construction management firms along with three Black architects to build 14 new school facilities. Black contractor participation rose exponentially because we were now at the top. We made sure that these companies also used Black accountants, attorneys, realtors, etc. It revolutionized business activity within the City of Indianapolis. This is what a viable chamber can do for a community. The major role of the National Black Chamber of Commerce, Inc. (incorporated in Washington, DC on May 17, 1993) is to provide advice, examples and assistance to local Black chambers and to help populate the nation with them. There were at least five previous attempts to start a national association of Black chambers and they all failed. We are proud of what we have accomplished but the best is yet to come. Also, we have become an international leader within the Black Diaspora. The concept of establishing a Black Chamber of Commerce can still be regarded as relatively new and that may present errors in organizing such an entity. Through experience (trial and error) we have found the following to be pitfalls that should be avoided if one wants to ensure the successful establishment of a viable long-term chamber: 1. Overthrow and bar the founder(s). 2. Rely totally on majority corporations or government funding. 3. Operate without a written agenda or Strategic Plan. 4. Establish a 501©6 IRS status instead of a 501©3. 5. Merge or work as a subsidiary of the traditional mainstream chamber. 6. Appoint elected officials to the Board of Directors. 7. Have a Board of Directors that is comprised primarily of non-entrepreneurs. 8. Become partisan in your advocacy. 9. Have a large number of board members that also belong to other similar organizations. 10. Wish to focus exclusively on provincial issues (no chamber is an island). 11. Concentrate on particular trades and not business in general. 12. Become timid in dealing with problems that negatively affect your membership. 13. Set agenda to meet only the needs of the board members. 14. Elect not to dialogue or collaborate with the Black church establishment. 15. Be a minority chamber and not focus specifically on Black issues. 16. Do not approach the issues with a relentless fashion and conclusive strategy. 17. Do not collaborate with other chambers and become non-financial with the National Black Chamber of Commerce. 18. Assuming that there will be no struggle (there must be a struggle). We refer to the above as the “18 Ways to Kill a Chamber”. Many chambers have actually already met their death from an “effective” point of view and need to start over. Now is the time as your children and grand children deserve a better local economy replete with opportunities that are only created by economic vitality. President William Howard Taft understood this when, at the start of the Industrial Revolution, he funded and provided the headquarters for the US Chamber of Commerce. This became essential in America’s quest to become a world power. Within sixty years we did and the US Chamber of Commerce can take the credit. Now, its time for our Black communities to do the same with an approach dedicated to the intricacies of the American Black Experience. Mr. Alford is the co-founder, President/CEO, of the National Black Chamber of Commerce, Inc. Website: www.nationalbcc.org. |
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Dealing with Minority Front Companies |
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Dealing with Minority Front Companies
One of the sleaziest operations going on today is that of a Front Company. This is a company that claims to be of minority ownership when actually it is a white company or a minority person falsely claiming ownership to an activity that is for minority business credit. It is intended to fool the public and those who support the use of minority business. This practice has no shame. You will see front companies on the covers of certain magazines and on lists of top minority businesses and actively participating in minority business associations. I encouraged former Attorney General Janet Reno to make examples of some. She did during the first Clinton Administration. She sent some of the rascals to prison and severely fined some of the white co-conspirators such as Peter Kiewit Inc. (owned by Warren Buffet). I am going to encourage the next Attorney General to do the same as the fronts keep coming.
My first experience at dealing with Fronts came during my early years of activism in Indiana. The new Indiana State Office Building was being built and on the minority participation reports was the name Thomas Construction doing $2 million plus in work. I thought this was quite strange as no Black contractor living in Indianapolis at the time could do such work. An investigation was started. I went to the Indiana Department of Public Works and, under the Freedom of Information Act, requested a physical look at the prequalification file of Thomas Construction. Any business doing more than $100 thousand in construction must be prequalified and have an active record on file. The secretary retrieved the file and presented it to me. The file was completely blank. Absolutely blank and I immediately concluded that a scheme was in play. Thus, we decided to go and see Mr. Thomas, an elderly man of little means. Mr. Thomas was cocky and arrogant and wouldn’t answer any of my questions. I didn’t show my frustration with him as I knew there was a way to get at the truth. I wrote to the Internal Revenue Service, IRS, as a whistle blower citizen. I told them that this man’s company is listed as making more than $2 million dollars last year and I doubted if he reported the earnings to them. Within a few weeks an IRS agent (criminal division) came to see me. She informed me that Mr. Thomas was in the middle of a scheme and never made anything close to the amount of money listed on the State Reports. She also said that I should go and see him again and he will give me some interesting evidence for my investigation. It was amazing! He was apologetic and shared with us written evidence of the conspiracy. Huber, Hunt and Nichols who was the Construction Manager of the project wrote a script of front activity for Mr. Thomas and his son. They would pay them to walk around the site during rush hours as if they were doing some kind of work. They would pay them in checks and escort them to the bank where they would deposit the checks and immediately transfer the funds to Huber, Hunt and Nichols. It was an absolute conspiracy written in black and white. The construction manager was suspended from state projects for 5 years. Mr. Thomas would have gone to jail if we pushed for prosecution but we let up as our point was made to all. That was 1991. Just a few weeks ago the Washington Post uncovered fronting within the federal government. A procurement agent at the Food and Drug Administration, FDA, wanted to give a public relations contract to Qorvis Communication. He couldn’t sole source the activity so he found an Alaska Native Corporation who was in the 8(a) Minority Business Program that would allow a sole source activity. The company, Alaska Newspapers Inc. (a subsidiary of the Calista Corporation), took the contract and immediately flipped the activity to Qorvis who allegedly paid them a small fee for the illegal exercise. Congressmen John Dingell (D-Michigan) and Bar Stupak (D-Michigan) summed it up this way, “Even more serious than the waste of appropriated funds, however, are the numerous violations of federal procurement and contracting laws that appear to have occurred during the execution of this contract.” It appears that Qorvis and the ANC firm are going to have to pay for their crime this time. If you want to fight fronting accept no minority business certification other than that of the Small Business Administration, SBA. All others have too many front companies slipping through without public recourse. Under the SBA rules, if a front attempts to get certified they are committing a crime under the False Claims Act which will assure them of at lease two years in jail. In the year 2009, we are going after as many fronts as we can find. The world will be better for this. Mr. Alford is the co-founder, President/CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce. Website is: www.nationalbcc.org. |
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