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(4) Missouri thru North Carolina: City Contractors suffer "reverse discrimination" due to racial set-asides and racial quotas! |
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(4) Missouri thru North Carolina |
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| By State and City: Pro-quota Minorities Block St. Louis Interstate! (Associated Press 07/12/99) [Associated Press Headline: "Highway labor-civil rights dispute ties up St. Louis Interstate"] "Interstate 70 is the region's busiest east-west corridor. Much road construction work is under way around St. Louis this summer, including replacement of bridges and overpasses on I-70. The protesters have demanded that minorities make up 35 percent of workers and 25 percent of contractors in construction projects. "About 350 protesters, led by the Rev. Al Sharpton, the New York civil rights activist, want the state to hire more minority contractors for highway construction projects. Protest organizers said talks with Gov. Mel Carnahan's staff over the past week have gone nowhere [in terms of guaranteeing racial set-asides for selected skin colors]. (AP, via FoxNews 07/12/99) Last known link: Quota Loss - Another blow against government discrimination (National Review 03/13/02) Excerpted from National Review commentary written by Phil Kent, president of the Southeastern Legal Foundation "March 1 [2002] marked another victory in the ongoing war against the use of race- and gender-based quotas by city and county governments. Responding to a lawsuit filed by the Southeastern Legal Foundation, U.S. magistrate judge Brent McKnight signed an order ordering Charlotte, N.C., to abandon its "Minority and Women's Business Development" contracting program in favor of one that is race- and gender-neutral. The order also granted $300,000 in damages to the construction company plaintiff that was discriminated against. "The latest Charlotte ruling — and its requirement that the city adopt a legal and effective race-neutral program — underscores a fact that the noisy left-wing lobby doesn't want Americans to know: Since the landmark 1989 U.S. Supreme Court decision City of Richmond v. Croson, not a single local race- and gender-based contracting program has withstood court scrutiny. "The way to help disadvantaged businesses gain access to the necessary tools of the marketplace is not by defending an illegal program — as was done in Charlotte and other cities. Rather, the answer is to devise a legal and equitable program that will reach its intended recipients and not just benefit well connected cronies of local politicians. "Since the Croson ruling, many cities — from Detroit to New York — have bucked the race hustlers by taking this responsible approach. "[For example,] Detroit's preferences system for public contracting were struck down as unconstitutional in 1993. City leaders then established a local enterprise program that set goals for local-business participation in city contracts that were focused on geographic location, not race or gender. ... Ironically, the city's legal [race-neutral] program now enjoys higher black participation than did the old, illegal [racially discriminatory] program. "Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani presided over a race-neutral program requiring government contractors who use subcontractors to employ local firms for at least 10 percent of the contract. "The Associated General Contractors — a national trade association for construction-related firms that has long opposed race/gender set-asides — also deserves praise. It operates an excellent mentoring program, the Stempel Plan, to aid small contractors of all races. The goal of Stempel is to match a small or new contractor with two older and larger "mentor" firms. Each "protege" firm can thus be offered technical assistance and advice on bidding for contracts, keeping the books, meeting government accounting standards, and securing surety bonding and capital. The plan has been successful in many cities and states, with the most exceptional standouts being Portland, Milwaukee, and Kansas City. "Aggressively implementing race-neutral public-contracting programs will move states and localities one step closer to achieving a free and open marketplace that offers true opportunity. Radical minority activists and their allies — in the media, in city councils, and in state legislatures — can only expect to face even more court defeats if they attempt to go on treating American citizens differently on the basis of their race." Excerpted from National Review commentary written by Phil Kent, president of the Southeastern Legal Foundation Last known link to the original story: Link to the Southeastern Legal Foundation: North Carolina (Fayetteville): Black Chamber of Commerce, US SBA Promote Minorities over Whites (12/17/98) "Small Business Administration officials from the agency’s Charlotte office were in Fayetteville Wednesday to sign a memorandum of understanding making the partnership official. The Rev. Clem Campbell, president and chief executive of the chamber, also signed the memorandum during a meeting at Fayetteville State University. "The agreement means the chamber will seek to promote SBA programs and services to entrepreneurs who are minorities, women, disadvantaged or physically disabled. It will also encourage local lenders to work more with businesses owned by minorities and other under-served groups." Excerpted from the Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer-Times 12-17-98, story by Catherine Pritchard Last known link: End "City Set-Asides (4) Missouri thru North Carolina" Page |
