For Immediate Release
February 18, 2011
Contact Information

Bill Diggs
T: (305) 751-8648

(BPRW) MIAMI-DADE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, NAACP MIAMI-DADE CHAPTER, MIAMI-DADE ECONOMIC ADVOCACY TRUST AND COMMUNITY LEADERS TO ANNOUNCE PROTEST AGAINST MIAMI-DADE PUBLIC SCHOOLS AT PRESS CONFERENCE

- NOTE "" NEW TIME: Event set for Tuesday, February 22 at 11:15 a.m. -

(BLACK PR WIRE) – The Miami-Dade Chamber of Commerce (M-DCC) and other prominent community and business leadership organizations will hold a press conference to expose a critical issue to the citizens of this community: the disparity of contracts awarded to non-black businesses by Miami-Dade County Public Schools (MDCPS). The press conference will be held on Tuesday, February 22, 2011 at 11:15 a.m. at WMBM-Gospel AM 1490, located at 13242 N.W. 7th Avenue in North Miami, Florida.

“This press conference is to shed light on the drastic disparity of contracting services provided to the black businesses from Miami-Dade County Public Schools,” said William (Bill) Diggs, president of the Miami-Dade Chamber of Commerce. “This problem is real, measurable and has got to stop. The time has come to publicly require our school system to do the right thing.”

Other organizations joining the Miami-Dade Chamber in this effort include the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and many local chapters of predominantly Black nationally recognized organizations.

According to records obtained by the M-DCC, blacks represent more than 22% of the school system’s total enrollment, and 16% of Miami-Dade County’s population. However, only 2% of MDCPS business contracts are provided to black businesses. Since 1987, more than 96% of all contracts (including construction and procurement) have been awarded to non-black businesses. The numbers of women and Hispanics are dismal as well.

Diggs and the investigative team uncovered the inequality from a report created by the audit department at MDCPS, indicating a 23-year-long history of discrimination against the black business community. “We believe that this is a systemic problem that will take an external company or organization to fix,” concluded Diggs. “Miami-Dade County Public School System does not have the will or ability to resolve this issue themselves. Holding this press conference is the first step to expose this issue to the citizens of this community.”
During the press conference, Diggs and other prominent black community leaders, including Bishop Victor T. Curry, president, Miami-Dade Chapter of the NAACP, plan to present the facts, discuss viable next steps and outline a plan for resolving the issue. This includes demanding that the Miami-Dade County School Board take up the issue and work with the M-DCC, NAACP, and Miami-Dade Economic Advocacy Trust to fix the problem.

For more information, contact the Miami-Dade Chamber of Commerce at (305) 751-8648.

WHO: THE MIAMI-DADE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
MIAMI-DADE CHAPTER OF THE NAACP
MIAMI-DADE ECONOMIC ADVOCACY TRUST

WHAT: PRESS CONFERENCE TO ANNOUNCE PROTEST AGAINST MDCPS

WHEN: TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2011 – 11:15 A.M.

WHERE: WMBM-GOSPEL AM 1490, LOCATED AT 13242 NW 7 AVENUE
NORTH MIAMI, FLORIDA