Over the past six weeks, The Oakland Post has run several articles on the significant disparities facing Black and women-owned businesses who pursue city contracts. We are focusing on this topic so much because the millions of dollars that should have come to the Black community are sorely needed to help improve the educational, economic, and health outcomes of our community. Legislation proposed by District 6 Councilmember Loren Taylor is intended to bring those millions of dollars back to the Black community.

As reported in 2017 Race & Gender Disparity Study, African-American companies were awarded 3.21% of the prime construction contracts and only 0.32% of total construction contract dollars. As it relates to professional services, African-American companies received 2.92% of prime contracts and 0.91% of total dollars. According to Taylor, “These numbers are particularly concerning seeing that African Americans comprise 25% of Oakland’s population.”

In conjunction with the Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce and the Oakland Post News Group, Taylor is hosting a virtual town hall on Saturday, February 13 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.During this meeting diverse business owners will hear directly from the councilmember on his proposed solutions to address the city’s current contracting disparities. This will also be an opportunity for companies to learn more about local resources available and share insight on what is still needed.

To ensure these new policies move forward, community members are invited to attend the upcoming City Council Meeting on Tuesday, February 16 at 1:30 p.m. and e-mail the City Council at council@oaklandca.gov.

Loren Taylor is the District 6 councilmember for the City of Oakland.

Kiki

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