Decimation of Black Business Procurement

It may sound crazy, as the Dramatics would say in their song, “I Want to go Outside in the Rain” but it is documented. It hurts to say but someone must tell it for us to regroup and move forward with our “eyes on the prize”. The experiences we have gone through over the last couple of decades are stuff good books are made of. I will get to that soon but right now I want to get this off my “chest”. In this business of fighting for Black business participation there is no bigger obstacle than the federal government. The federal government is the biggest potential customer to American business per se. If Black owned businesses are to develop a major business client base it will be the federal government with all its agencies.

The National Black Chamber of Commerce was founded during the month of May 1993. It was at that point that we set our main mission on networking through the maze of federal procurement. President Clinton was the new fresh President. Alexis Herman was the White House Public Liaison and she met us with open arms. President Clinton started forming his cabinet and to the surprise of everyone the great Ron H. Brown was chosen as his Secretary of Commerce and Congressman Mike Espy was picked for Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, a gigantic agency. The Black business advocacy started sprouting around the Clinton movement. Retired Congressman Parren J. Mitchell’s Minority Business Enterprise Legal Defense & Education Fund and the high energy of businessman Joshua Smith led the charge in nouveau advocacy for Black business development at the federal level and we felt energized to the maximum.

We got organized and the movement became known to all. Progress became a reality. Our motivation and optimism were very apparent and evidently our Congress became a little worried. To our horror, formal Congressional investigations were launched against Secretary Brown and Secretary Espy. They were “hit jobs” meant to serve notice to all of us that Black business development was taboo to the federal government and would not be tolerated. We stood firm in our resolve and kept pushing forward. Brown and Espy were exonerated (of course). But eventually Ron Brown’s government plane fell out of the sky. He knew so much and was about to do historical things in the name of Black America. The honorable Hazel O’Leary became Secretary of Energy and caught hell all the way as she tried to diversify this good old boy agency.

In the year 2001, the Bush Administration came in power and we were prepared to set the stage for continued progress. We made immediate contacts and started to work the various federal agencies. President George W. Bush is one of the most sincere and honest persons I have ever met. This commitment was contagious to his entire Cabinet. Under his two administrations Black business procurement started growing at a steady rate. By 2008 we were at nearly 8% participation at the federal level. The growth meant hundreds of billions of dollars into the Black community replete with new employment.

The biggest hero in the Bush cabinet was Alphonso Jackson, Secretary of HUD. He instructed his procurement executives to exploit the 8a Business Program throughout their procurement activity. By doing this, they legally increased minority business participation from nearly nothing to over 30%. This was historical! The Congressional Black Caucus formally recognized his accomplishments. The NBCC gave him our Arthur A. Fletcher Lifetime Achievement Award. Congress had a different reaction. They launched a corruption investigation of monumental proportions. It emotionally drained him. He was found innocent but not before he resigned and spent much of his net worth to prove his innocence.

Maybe this is what shook Barack Obama’s view on Black business as he became the 44th President of the United States. He was timid and was not going to enrage Congress by appearing friendly to the thought of Black business participation. His “markers” were being held by socialists, environmentalists and unions all of which have anathema towards Black business. His allegiance would be with them and, besides, we were going to love his half-Black body no matter what. He betrayed our movement and the numbers started to show it.

We started going south of the 8% level on a steady ride “south”.

We sounded the alarm and went to the press. The Obama Administration would lie and claim they had no idea what Black procurement levels were. “We don’t keep those numbers” they would repeatedly claim. Silly people! The numbers are kept by the General Service Administration – Federal Procurement Data Systems. They count every procurement dollar by race, gender, economic level, disabilities, veterans, etc. I guess they thought we didn’t have the connections or the savvy to get to those numbers.

We have fallen from 8% Black participation in the Bush Administration to the following after the horror of the Obama years: Fiscal Year 2016: Blacks accounted for 1.8% percent of the total federal spend. Fiscal Year 2017: Blacks accounted for 1.8% percent of the total federal spend. Fiscal Year 2018 to date (June 22, 2018) Blacks accounted for 1.6%. Note: Fiscal years are from October 1 – through September 30. Fiscal year 2018 will end this September 30.

Oh yes, what is HUD doing now? In 2017 they came in at 1.4% Black participation. Quite a difference from the Bush years.

The NBCC will launch a new campaign to help the Federal Government rebound from the dismal Obama years with Black participation. We begin next month at our Annual Conference. WHAT DOES NOT KILL US, MAKES US STRONGER!

Mr. Alford is the Co-Founder, President/CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce®.

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