Taxation Without Participation Must End
By Ronda Watson Barber
Publisher
I’m still at it. Why do I have to work so damn hard to convince entities that receive tax dollars from a diverse tax base that they need to be inclusive in their purchasing practices? Even with Black people in leadership positions, suburban governments appear to not care that Black businesses are not included in procurement opportunities. It is nothing short of taxation without participation. Inclusion should be the standard in purchasing. The OhioMBE Wall of Shame is growing. It can’t continue to be business as usual.
Are you advocating for your business? Our taxes are good enough to collect, but most suburban government entities still won’t do business with us. Is it okay for local entities to take your sales taxes, income taxes and property taxes without including Black-owned businesses into their daily purchasing practices? I strongly suggest you help me, help you.
Below is a list of public school districts and local governments that have little to no interest in diversity within their purchasing practices. Drop them an email (so it’s on the public record) and express your desire to see inclusion in their purchasing practices.
- Bexley City Schools has a levy on the November ballot. Their superintendent is Mike Johnson. Mike can be reached at Mike.Johnson@bexleyschools.org. Their only Black Board of Education member is Alissha Mitchell. Email Alissha at
Alissha.Mitchell@bexleyschools.org - City of Bexley. Tim Madison is the City Council President. Email Tim at tmadison@bexley.org. Ben Kessler is the Mayor. Ben’s email address is bkessler@bexley.org
- Pickerington City Schools. Thirty percent of the students are students of color. The superintendent is Valerie Browning-Thompson. She can be reached at valerie_browning-thompson@plsd.us
- City of Pickerington. Lee Gray is the Mayor. Email him at mayorgray@pickerington.net
- Westerville City Schools. The superintendent is John Kellogg. He can be reached at kelloggj@wcsoh.org. The board president is Richard Bird. Email Mr. Bird at birdr@wcsoh.org
- Whitehall City Schools. Trent Bowers is the superintendent. He can be reached at tbowers@wscloud.org. The Board president is Marc Schare – mschare@wscloud.org. Joy Bivens is the sole Black board member. Her email address is bivensj@wcsrams.org
Black business is good business!
Just my thoughts…rwb
