Who’s looking out for Black businesses?
By Ronda Watson Barber
OhioMBE Publisher
OhioMBE – September 1, 2014
I continue to ask who in elected office is really looking out for Black businesses? There appear to many assaults on the growth and development of Black owned businesses. While the State of Ohio is finally making progress in meeting the mandated 15 percent purchasing goals with certified minority owned businesses, how many of the businesses that received the contracts were Black owned? How many were microenterprises? (A microenterprise is a small business with less than five employees and very low startup costs. Typically microenterprises are family owned.) For obvious reasons, it is vital that an environment is fostered that promotes the development and growth of Black business, particularly Black businesses that hire Black employees.
While some claim that the Ohio certification process has been streamlined. The documentation requirements can still be a barrier to small Black owned businesses. The goal should be to include as many businesses into the program not exclude legitimate minority owned business.
The City of Columbus’ efforts to support Black-owned businesses is a dog and pony show. Taxpayers fund a department that certifies minority and women owned businesses, but the City doesn’t have any purchasing goals to support the certification. City Council won’t commission a study to find out if discrimination exists within its purchasing practices, but continues to claim that purchasing goals are unconstitutional. More and more unnecessary requirements are being put into place for a business to “qualify” to do business with the City of Columbus. Many of the requirements again will exclude Black businesses from participating in the process. Does the predominately Black Columbus City Council realize the harm they are doing to Black business or are they clouded by the campaign funds that were funneled to them? It is worth noting that all the members of Council receive an overwhelming majority of their campaign funds from Council President Andy Ginther. The minority business chair, A. Troy Miller received 90 percent of his campaign funds from Ginther’s PAC. So who does Columbus City Council answer to? They certainly don’t looking out for the best interest of Black owned businesses.
Just my thoughts…rwb
