The Miami-Dade Chamber of Commerce is blasting Miami-Dade County Public Schools for not awarding more contracts to black businesses.
The chamber issued a statement saying it has gotten records that show the school district awarded only two percent of its business contracts to blacks.
African Americans, the business group added, comprise 22 percent of the school system’s student enrollment and are 16 percent overall of the county’s population.
“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,” chamber president Bill Diggs said in the statement.
The chamber announced it will hold a press conference at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 22, to discuss the issue. The Miami-Dade branch of the NAACP and representatives of chapters of black organizations will be at the conference, the statement said.
Diggs said he and an investigative team found evidence of “a 23-year-long history of discrimination against the black business community” in Miami-Dade Public Schools.
“We believe that this is a systemic problem that will take an external company or organization to fix,” Diggs said. “Miami-Dade County public school system does not have the will or the ability to resolve this issue themselves.”
The press conference is scheduled for WMBM-Gospel AM 1490 radio station, 13242 NW Seventh Ave., North Miami.
Pictured Above: Bill Diggs
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