April 8, 2010

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Cincinnati NAACP

The Cincinnati NAACP congratulates the Cincinnati Public School Board for taking the right step by acknowledging the minority inclusion numbers are $16 million lower than previously reported.  This is a major step for CPS in gaining back credibility.  The next step is CPS agreeing to an action plan that has real outcomes that all parties agree are possible.  "The Cincinnati NAACP needs CPS to provide the bottom line number on African American contracts awarded out of the $68 million they now report.  The Cincinnati NAACP does not want CPS to hide behind the word minority," Christopher Smitherman, president of the Cincinnati NAACP says.   

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The Cincinnati NAACP is very concerned in the quality of economic inclusion.  DAG works for Cincinnati Public Schools.  However, the Cincinnati NAACP is very concerned about DAG being involved with CPS based on their own business practices that undermine the entire industry's ability to achieve economic inclusion.  On one hand DAG is paid with public money to improve economic inclusion for CPS but supports a "pass through" for the Banks Projects.  DAG has a company named Northside Supply.  Northside Supply provides cement for a company named Hilltop.  Hilltop is a White owned company that supplies concrete to job sites all over Hamilton County.  Hilltop does not need Northside Supply to provide the ingredient cement to produce concrete.  However, Hilltop and Baker Construction need the "ingredient" of minority inclusion on the Banks Project.  Northside Supply provides the cement to Hilltop and Hilltop provides the concrete to Baker and Baker Construction reports minority inclusion to Eugene Ellington, the Mayor, City Council, and Hamilton County Commissioners that economic inclusion is being achieved.  Northside Supply is marking up the cement that it provides to Hilltop by 5% or 10% and walking away with cash. This practice is common and legal but unethical. It undermines the ability for real companies to build real capacity. Northside Supply is adding no real Value to the BANKS PROJECT. They are passing around invoices, getting paid, and claiming economic inclusion. The Cincinnati NAACP hopes the media will pick up the phone and call the players involved and ask if this e-mail is true.  CPS has started to come clean and it is now time for the Banks Project to do the same.   "Does Gene Ellington know this practice is occurring on the BANKS PROJECT? If so this practice is shameful," Smitherman says.