Certification is discrimation

The Gantt Report

Certification is discrimation

By Lucius Gantt

      I would imagine that every state, county and city in the United States has employed at least one person in a position that has the word “minority”, “urban”, “disadvantaged” or “diversity” in that person’s job title.

Many Black workers are hired to staff government agencies, departments and offices that claim to assist minority businesses.

Federal, state and local governments are considered big spenders when it comes to doing business with vendors seeking government contracts.

Ever state has billions to spend and almost every city and county in America has millions to spend when purchasing goods and services from private companies.

The Constitution of the United States of America has a clause that guarantees each American citizen equal opportunity when dealing with government situations and relations.

So, if governments have millions and billions of dollars to spend buying goods and services from private businesses, how many Black businesses do you know that has gotten a million dollar government contract other than one or two or three construction contractors?

Some white companies get million dollar contracts for “consultation” but how many Black companies get million dollar consulting contracts? Some white companies get million dollar contracts to place advertising, or for calling a media company and telling an ad account representative you want to purchase a government ad. But how many Black ad agencies get contracts to place million dollar ad buys?

Women, veterans, Cubans and everybody else gets high paying business opportunities to do government work but the vast majority of Black owned businesses can only hope for “certification”!

What is certification? Certification is discrimination!

It is not necessary for any business to be “certified” to seek to do business with government but a Black business is told every day, “In order to do business with (state, county or city) government, you need to be certified.”

Well, if a Black business is certified or not certified either way if you are Black, you won’t get much government business!

Why? Because the well paid employees in government offices masquerading as helpers of Black owned businesses are really paid to discourage Blacks from seeking state contracts than to assist business owners in getting government business!

If certification was a great idea white businesses would have to be certified! And, if a Black business owner proved his racial background and his business ownership status one year why do these government offices suggest next year the Black person with the Black business is not Black anymore and could possibly become a “white” business owner?

Yes, I know that’s crazy. But dig this. Don’t take my word for it, go into any so-called minority business office in any state, any county and in any city and say you want to do government business. And the first question you will be asked is “Are you certified?”

If a damn government worker can look at you and tell you are Black, why in the hell should it be mandatory to be “certified” to pursue government contract opportunities as a Black business person?

Well, government workers will explain, “You have to be certified or I can’t help you,” or “we need to certify MBEs to prevent fraud or to stop people from pretending to be Black business persons.”

OK, the better deterrent for business cheaters would be to levy extreme fines, like a million dollars, make lying about race in business transactions a felony that has a penalty of jail time for a year or more or to ban every owner in the fake business and all of their family and all of their employees from doing government business for five years! Now that will stop a lot of business cheaters.

The use of multi-year and multi-agency certifications of Black business owners must be exposed for being faulty and a failure in generating increased contracts and contract opportunities for Black business persons.

To many entrepreneurs “certification” is not a help and not a benefit. It is a hindrance designed to make Black business people jump through more hoops than other business owners.

Certification is discrimination and also a practice that must be changed, discredited and/or abandoned! (Buy Gantt’s book “Beast Too: Dead Man Writing” anywhere books are sold and contact Lucius at www.allworldconsultants.net)