Economic Development

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Watch: NAACP Vice President Honoré Urges Contracts Equity

You may remember that in September we took the City of San Diego to task for its shocking record of contracting with people of color, as revealed in the CAPER report to HUD.  We were back at the City Council on October 23rd on a fresh contracting issue.

The City of San Diego gives very nearly all of its construction business to firms owned by white men, firms that often do not even employ significant numbers of African-Americans and other ethnicities. The NAACP San Diego tried to delay the awarding of this $100M water and wastewater contract until the firms involved could be queried on their inclusion plans.

Our voice was joined by Brother Hameed of the National Black Contractor’s Association:

Councilmember Alvarez even read part of our letter to urge adoption of one of its provisions:

In the end, we were unsuccessful in achieving a delay:

However, City Engineer James Nagelvoort is facilitating a meeting between the NAACP, the Black Contractor’s Association, the National Association of Minority Contractors, and the five firms in question.  We hope the talks are productive.

We could be more active in these areas of labor and economic equity if NAACP members with relevant expertise and passion would come out to work on our Labor and Economic Development committees.  Please come to our General Membership Meeting on November 2nd, or write us at [email protected] and volunteer to help us with this important work!

Full text of our letter to the Council follows:

2018-10-22 K-17-1518-MAC-3 NAACP Letter to Council (dragged)
 2018-10-22 K-17-1518-MAC-3 NAACP Letter to Council (dragged)

 

USC Training in Real Estate Finance and Development

We came across this program at the San Diego Housing Federation’s “Housing at the Breaking Point” conference.  It looks interesting.

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The Ross Minority Program was founded in 1993 for the purpose of engaging land use professionals, especially of underrepresented ethnic minority groups and women, to enter the field of real estate finance and development. We continue to provide an excellent opportunity to any and all individuals wishing to build new skills, gain valuable insight and expand their career path in real estate finance and development.

To date, over 900 land use professionals have participated and received their certificate in Real Estate Finance and Development from the Ross Minority Program.  These individuals work in a variety of positions, including: real estate practitioners, non-profit and community leaders, public sector decision makers, and entrepreneurs.

If you’d like to apply to the Ross Minority Program, here are some things you should know:

  1. Admission is open to all individuals — regardless of race, gender, or ethnicity — who would like to receive exceptional training in real estate finance and development.
  2. Admission is competitive and selective. We aim to enroll individuals who will contribute to a rich and stimulating learning environment and benefit from an accelerated program.
  3. The ideal Ross student is:
  • a creative thinker with an entrepreneurial spirit
  • familiar with real estate and the planning process
  • motivated by the risks and rewards of the real estate industry
  • able to thrive on obstacles and challenges
  • compelled to lead and succeed in his or her profession
  • creative, resourceful, and competitive
  • keenly interested in urban development

Upcoming sessions are as follows:

2019 WINTER SESSION

DATE: January 10 – February 1, 2019 (Four-week format)
LOCATION: USC Campus, Los Angeles, CA
SCHEDULE OF CLASSES:
FIRST WEEK: Thursday, Friday, Saturday – Jan 10-12
SECOND WEEK: Thursday, Friday, Saturday – Jan 17-19
THIRD WEEK: Thursday, Friday, Saturday – Jan 24-26
FOURTH WEEK: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday – Jan 30-Feb 1

TIME: 8:00 am to 5:00 pm including 6 evening events to 9:00 pm

APPLICATION DEADLINE: November 15, 2018

 

2019 SUMMER SESSION

DATE: June 10 – June 21, 2019 (Two-week format)
LOCATION: USC Campus, Los Angeles, CA
SCHEDULE OF CLASSES:
FIRST WEEK: Monday to Saturday, June 10-15
SECOND WEEK: Monday to Friday, June 17-21

TIME: 8:00 am to 5:00 pm including 6 evening events to 9:00 pm

APPLICATION DEADLINE: April 20, 2019

USC Campus Housing may be available at a reduced cost.

LECTURE TOPICS

You may review the lecture topics at: https://lusk.usc.edu/ross/program/lecture-topics.

PROGRAM FEE

The fee for the program is $5,500. There is no application fee.

The Ross Minority Program in Real Estate is underwritten by individual and corporate sponsors who support the program’s mission and believe in improving cultural and ethnic diversity within the real estate profession. The program fee covers registration, materials, meals, networking events, evening receptions, and site visits.

FEE REDUCTION

A limited number of fee reduction grants are available for applicants with demonstrated financial need. A fee reduction application must be submitted with your program application.

APPLICATION

You may access the online application process at: http://lusk.usc.edu/ross/admission/application.

USC Ross Minority Program in Real Estate

174 City of San Diego HUD Contracts and Subcontracts: $73M only for White-Owned Businesses

Yesterday we sent the following letter to the City of San Diego:

Comment on CAPER Fiscal year 2018/ HUD Program year 2017

 

Dear Economic Development Department,

 

While we appreciate the work involved in producing the CAPER report, the reality that it contains is quite alarming.

 

The San Diego Branch of the NAACP Housing Committee has many unanswered questions about the report, far too many to note here.

 

However, the most glaring and distressing, in terms of what we understand as HUD regulations, is the report on Minority and Women Owned Businesses.

 

Table 10 indicates that of a TOTAL of 162 subcontracts awarded by the City of San Diego:
1. NONE went to minority owned businesses
2. Nine went to Women Business Enterprises
3. ONE HUNDRED FIFTY THREE went to white  non-Hispanic males.

 

We would like this information to be explained in detail in the final report and we would like to understand your justification for these results.
These numbers directly contradict the spirit and letter of the purpose for the Department of Housing and Urban Development.  These figures put in jeopardy future federal funds that would come from HUD to the city of San Diego.
There are many more causes for concern in the report and we will comment on those at a later time.
We look forward to the final report and welcome the chance to cooperate on some of the problems that will be ongoing for some years in the future.

 

Sincerely yours,
Carol Spong
Chair, Housing Committee
NAACP San Diego Branch

Here is Page 15 of the report, which makes the situation abundantly clear:

FY18_DRAFT_CAPER_FINAL (dragged)

 

Nearly $73M and not a penny to a business owned by a person of color.  Can’t believe it?  Read the full FY18 Draft CAPER Report on the City’s website.

Meet & Greet with Williams-Sonoma, Inc

Come and learn about Williams-Sonoma, Inc. at our Behind the Brands recruiting event! Join us for small bites, drinks, and to hear from our team at Williams-Sonoma, Inc.

Meet and connect with hiring managers, recruiters, and leaders.

Business Casual. Free Event Entry.

September 25 & 29

Contact [email protected] for any questions.

Get Tickets

The US Supreme Court

On July 9, 2018, President Trump announced that he would nominate Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court to fill the vacancy of retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy.  After thorough research and evaluation the NAACP opposes his nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court now.

In 2005, despite the opposition of the NAACP, Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed by the U.S. Senate to be a judge on the he U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.  On almost every issue imaginable, Judge Kavanaugh has proven us right to have opposed him; in fact, in both his decisions and his dissents, Judge Kavanaugh has proven himself to be even more of a problematic extremist than we anticipated.  On the issue of gun violence protection, health care, workers’ rights, voting rights, affirmative action, and many more that are important to the NAACP, Brett Kavanaugh has proven that he is no friend of the NAACP.

This nomination is too important to rush.  This nomination should only be considered by the Senate elected by the American people in November, 2018, when they are fully aware of the stakes and after the 116th Congress is sworn in. The Court is meant to be an unbiased guardian of rights and liberties of all Americans.  The country desperately needs a fair-minded and independent jurist on the Supreme Court, not a divisive and biased ideologue who will further shake the public’s faith in our nation’s justice system.  The constitutional process for appointing and confirming the next justice must be thoughtful, careful, deliberative, and conducted with well-informed bipartisan support.  The Senate should not consider a nominee until a new Senate is seated next year, after the results of the midterm election are in place.  This will fully allow the American people, those who will be most affected by the confirmation, to truly have a voice in the selection of the nominee. 

 Please call both your Senators and urge them to vote “no” on this confirmation, sand to wait until January, 2019 before making such an important decision. 

 For more information as about the situation, or to find out how to contact your Senators, read the attached Action Alert.

KAVANUAGH2

Thank you for all you do,

Hilary

Member-Owned Local Small Business Directory

We at the NAACP San Diego support strongly the NAACP’s belief that Economic Sustainability is a game-changer for the 21st Century. We believe that African-Americans and other people of color should share fairly in economic growth and development.
Our economy is in turmoil. The wealthy few are wealthier than ever before, and the rest of us are all too often sliding down the economic ladder. Good jobs, that allow workers their fair share of profits, are less and less available than ever. The economic ladder is being pulled away before most people of color have even climbed to the middle, much less the top.
One way we can fight this trend is by supporting small business ownership in our communities. To this end, the NAACP San Diego has a Member-Owned Local Small Business Directory on our website. Any NAACP member who is sole proprietor of a business here in the San Diego area is eligible for a listing, free of charge.
Each listing will consist of your business name and contact information. We will also note on each listing if the proprietor is African-American (AA), other Person of Color (POC) or Female (F). Those of you with corporate memberships are eligible to design a small advertisement for placement in the directory.
If you know someone who owns a small local business and is NOT currently a member of the NAACP, membership is only $30 per year. Tell them to visit join.sandiegonaacp.org and sign up!
To get your listing in our directory, please fill out our online application.
Full details on the directory may be found here.
We encourage our members to consult the directory and purchase goods and services from other members where possible.