WENDI C. THOMAS
Are African-American companies being shut out of Shelby County
government contracts? That's the question that county commissioners
Walter Bailey (eloquently) and Henri Brooks (inelegantly, as usual)
posed at a May commission meeting. The county hasn't tracked
minority/women-owned business participation in more than 30 years,
but if the private sector is any indication, the answer is: Pretty much.
$1.16 billion
Value of private sector prime
construction contracts in the
Memphis MSA, July 2003-December
2007
$1.15 billion
Amount received by white
male-owned firms
$8.78 million
Amount received by white
female-owned firms
$0
Amount received by black, Hispanic,
Native American and Asian-owned
firms - COMBINED.
By way of context, here's the racial/ethnicity breakdown of the
Memphis MSA, according to the 2000 U.S. Census.
16,416 2,322
627,172
523,246
White (Non-Hispanic) Black (Non-Hispanic)
Asian or Pacif ic Islander (Non-H... Hispanic
American Indian or Alaska Native... Two or More Races (Non-Hispanic)...
And in case you were wondering, here's some info on the black-whiteHispanic wealth gap from the Pew Research Center via NPR. This chart
could also be titled "Why I REFUSE to get my drawers in a wad over
Brooks," or perhaps "If you want to be outraged, how about getting
peeved over this?"
Read more about minority/women-owned business and local
government contracts online Friday at commercialappeal.com.
Find
out more facts about economic inequality in Memphis at
commercialappeal.com/inequality.
Source: 2010 City of Memphis Comprehensive Disparity Study, 2010 U.S. Census
Create infographics
(Read more about this on commercialappeal.com later Friday and in the print edition of The Commercial Appeal on Sunday)
