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Cincinnati NAACP President, Christopher Smitherman, goes to trial on Thursday, May 6, 2010. The trial is a result of Smitherman and Rev. Dock Foster, president of the Baptist Ministers Conference, protesting Cincinnati Public Schools' (CPS) lack of African American contractors.
May 2, 2010 . Cincinnati NAACP Media Release . The Cincinnati NAACP President, Christopher Smitherman, goes to trial on Thursday, May 6, 2010. The trial is a result of Smitherman and Rev. Dock Foster, president of the Baptist Ministers Conference, protesting Cincinnati Public Schools' (CPS) lack of African American contractors. Since the arrest, CPS has confirmed that the administration was inflating their minority inclusion numbers by $16 million. "CPS was engaging in fraud with the intent of misleading the State of Ohio and the City of Cincinnati by reporting that African Americans were working on the $1 billion construction project," said, Christopher Smitherman. . President Dock Foster and President Smitherman are both facing 30 days in jail and a $250 fine if convicted. The demonstration was peaceful. Neither Foster nor Smitherman are concerned about receiving a 30-day jail sentence. However, they are concerned about the school district's practice of corruption such as inflating statistics, actively using "pass-through" and "front" companies, shopping bids, change order corrunption, and bidding their projects in large packages all which intentionally results in excluding African American contractors. Presently, CPS continues to refuse to pass a strategic plan to do business differently. . Attorneys Finney, Holly, and Tye filed two separate Motions to Dismiss Cases. The motions request that the cases against Foster and Smitherman be dismissed on basis of "...material defects in the Complaint[s]..." Case No. 10 B 7489 is the number the community can use to look up President Dock Foster's case. Case No. 10 B 7488 is the number the community can use to look up President Christopher Smitherman's case. Smitherman said, "It is shameful that CPS wants African Americans to vote for their hundred million dollar levies by baiting us into a promise of economic participation without any strategic plans and monitoring. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was arrested and put in jail many times for fighting social injustices. President Dock Foster and I are willing to do the time to bring attention to economic apartheid in Cincinnati, Ohio." Both men have directed their attorneys to subpoena School Board President, Eileen Cooper Reed and Superintendent Mary Ronan to testify. . Smitherman encourages all citizens to come to court on May 6, 2010. |
