By Christopher Young,
Contributing Writer,
The truth is that the words Mississippi and minority contracting should never be grouped together. Minority contractors who attempt to do business with the State of Mississippi face nearly indescribable discrimination. As reported by The Mississippi Link newspaper in the July 25th, August 1st and August 8th, 2024, issues, the discrimination of minority contractors is administered by the state.
For the past fifty-nine years, per the Department of Labor website (https://www.dol.gov), starting with President Johnson’s Executive Order 11246, the Secretary of Labor is given the “authority and responsibility of ensuring equal opportunity for minorities in federal contractors’ recruitment, hiring, training and other employment practices.” In 1983, the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program was authorized by Congress, and since 1988, with then MS SB2925, females, right alongside minority groups, has been written into the related statues. “DBE treats businesses owned by racial minorities and women as presumptively disadvantaged,” while that is essential, it is grossly maligned in Mississippi.
Is it fraudulent, in Mississippi, to consider that a white female business owner could be more disadvantaged than a Hispanic or African American female business owner. Last year, in FY2023, Mississippi’s minority contracting expenditures amounted to 5.73% of the total. Of that 5.73%, a full 5.09% went to “other non-ethnic women” – white women – leaving less than 1% (.64%) of expenditures for Asian, Asian Pacific, African American, Hispanic and Native American contractors (male and female). When added to the 94.27% of contracts that went to non-minorities, it brings the total expenditures to white people to 99.36%. This is a critical and undeniable representation of how little Mississippi values and respects minorities.
The FY2023 Minority Participation Report itself misrepresents the true level of minority participation. Its cover page, produced in glossy color, indicates that of the $4.31 billion in expenditures – 5.72%, or roughly $246 million, went to minorities. They try to paint a picture of progress but fail to mention that 88% of that went to “other non-ethnic women,” i.e. white women. The procurement people at Mississippi Development Authority know darn well that in Mississippi, of all places, there are no white businesswomen that are more “socially and economically disadvantaged” than any true minorities. The report’s cover material would have you to believe one thing, but we now know the truth.
One insider, speaking to The Mississippi Link on the condition of anonymity, shared “It goes like this, if an agency requested bids for a landscaping contract, for example, the people reviewing the submissions know that Bubba has been doing that for years and does a good enough job, and so they are going to award the contract to Bubba again, it’s that simple. Then companies are intentionally created to ensure that a white female has a 51% ownership stake, or 51% control of a board, or 51% of the management and by doing so, that company is then viewed as a minority. It’s all behind closed doors and no one questions it.”
This writer is reminded of the poignant nugget of truth, shared some time ago by a significant son of Mississippi – “Everything in Mississippi is about race.” We have a 44% minority population in Mississippi, we have contractors, business plan writers, consultants – we have so many people working hard for economic opportunity – but if you want to do business with the state, if you want a seat at the table, if you want to participate, and you are not white, you will be left standing in the Mississippi mud – with few exceptions.
We know discrimination in The Hospitality State is pervasive. Back to the numbers from the FY2023 Minority Participation Report. A total of $4,313,892,990.60 – right down to the “In God We Trust” penny – was expended by 92 state agencies and all of Institutions of Higher Learning. $4,067,112,741.88 went to white folks right off the top (94.27%), leaving $246,780,248.72 for minorities (5.73%). But now we sink down to the belly of Mississippi, because 88% of the minority expenditures – $217,166,618.87 of the $246,780,248.72 – went to “other non-ethnic women.” Nowhere in the report will you find the words – white women – they don’t say it out loud, let alone print it on a piece of paper. After digging past the initial misrepresentation in the report, the real discovery is that 99.36% went to white Mississippians and less than 1% (.64%) went to non-white Mississippians.
Lieutenant Governor Hosemann, Speaker Jason White, and the head of the Mississippi Development Authority, Bill Cork, have not returned emails from The Mississippi Link newspaper seeking comment. The Department of Justice has been informed of this discrimination. Perhaps the Treasury Department should be informed, too. The American Rescue Plan Act, which brought $6 billion to Mississippi and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act which is slated to bring over $4 billion to Mississippi – both contain language requiring states to support unserved and underserved populations with those funds, according to Representative Omeria Scott (D-80). Do you suppose they have?
When you go to the Mississippi Development Authority website, https://mississippi.org, the banner reads: “Untapped Opportunity…Mighty Mississippi…Discover untapped opportunity in a state with low costs, access to key markets, streamlined regulations and hardworking, welcoming people.” Further down on the home page, you find these words: “Mississippi is Ready…Where business gets it done…Discover a business community that believes a rising tide lifts all ships, a regulatory environment free of red tape, and a community of collaborators here in Mississippi.” Interesting that they really don’t lie, nor do they tell the whole truth.
Last week an MDA employee told this writer, who was seeking a face-to-face meeting with Mr. Cork, that he was very busy and would be flying to Japan the following week. This was not surprising information – their website also says they have offices in “Japan, South America, Europe and Korea, and the Mississippi State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) to help minimize the initial cost of exports.” Good news for others – nothing good for minorities in Mississippi.
Just imagine if they had the heart to invest in the rest of Mississippians, first.
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