NEWS and EVENTS

“What are you supposed to do when the government just tells you to shut down and that’s how you knew how to operate at this point in time?" said Nia Grace, owner of Darryl’s Corner Bar & Kitchen, during a national event focused on Black business owners.” Read more here.

“Three community groups last month filed a federal complaint against the city of Boston, alleging discrimination in its public contracting practices. The action came after a city-commissioned study found that 1.2% of $2.2 billion in city contract and procurement dollars between July 1, 2014, and June 30, 2019, were awarded to Black- and Latino-owned businesses.” Read
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“A day before Walsh signed the executive order, lawyers, citing Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, filed a complaint against the city with the US Department of Justice and the US Department of Transportation, alleging racial disparities in public contracting. The suit was filed on behalf of the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts (BECMA),
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“During the early days of the pandemic, the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts helped Black-owned businesses get personal protective equipment, advocated for equitable pandemic aid programs, and highlighted long-running disparities in the awarding of state contracts.” Read more here. 

“ Black Economic Council of Massachusetts Executive Director Segun Idowu talks with WBZ-TV's Anaridis Rodriguez about filing a federal complaint asking the Department of Justice to investigate and intervene into alleged discriminatory practices at Boston City Hall.” Watch here.

“Those targets were criticized as too low by some of the groups bringing the legal action. For instance, Black Economic Council of Massachusetts CEO Segun Idowu has called for the overall target to be set at 40%, with a 15% target for Black-owned businesses alone.” Read more here.

“Segun Idowu, executive director of the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts, talks about the discrimination complaint against the city of Boston charging that minority businesses are excluded from city contracts. What is the remedy?” Read more here.

“A new executive order sets a goal of allocating at least 25% of city contractor spending to minority- and women-owned businesses, up from 17% in a version of the directive earlier this week.” Read more here.

Segun Idowu, Executive Director of the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts (BECMA), explains why it joined with other organizations in the civil rights complaint over the stark racial disparities in City of Boston spending on contracts for construction, goods, and services. Interview for BNN News. Aired February 17, 2021. Watch the interview here. https://youtu.be/338-YKDm_lA

The Black Economic Council of Massachusetts, the Greater Boston Latino Network and Amplify Latinx today asked the Justice Department to look into why the city of Boston awarded only 1.2% of $2.1 billion in procurement contracts in recent years went to Black and Latino businesses. Lawyers for Civil Rights filed the complaint for the groups with the federal departments of Justice
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