During
the 2013 Whistleblower Summit for Civil and Human Rights, which was held on
July 29th- 31st in Washington, D.C., The Coalition For Change, Inc. (C4C) introduced its report
entitled Obstacle 1:The Denial of a
Reality. The latest C4C report rebuts
the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's (EEOC) African American Workgroup
report findings issued March 2013 and identifies the EEOC as one of the key obstacles impeding the equal opportunities for African Americans in the federal
work force.
"We found it needful to formally document our concerns because the EEOC report simply left too much unsaid," stated C4C's founder Tanya Ward Jordan speaking before a packed room of Whistleblower Summit participants and journalists at the National Press Club in Washington DC. "The EEOC reduced the discrimination discourse to "unconscious biases" and totally ignored the reality of conscious biases operating in the federal workplace. Very conscious biases, at times practiced covertly, are often acted upon by public officials who establish our nation's public policies and programs."
"Offices
responsible for enforcing civil rights, like the U.S. Department of
Agriculture's (USDA) Office of the Assistant
Secretary for Civil Rights (OASCR), is worse under the Obama administration,
than it was under the Clinton or the Bush administration," added Mr. Lawrence
Lucas, President, of the USDA Coalition of Minority Employees and a stakeholder
who gave input into the C4C report. "A major obstacle facing African American
employees is the agencies' failure to timely mediate workplace complaints. Within the USDA, the OASCR's failure to
resolve complaints timely and at the lowest level possible devastates the lives
of many black USDA employees and minority farmers."
2013 Whistleblower Summit by T. Ward Jordan
"The EEOC report transfers blame onto the victims of discrimination. The EEOC assertions, that African Americans' perceptions of inequality and lack of education hinder their career advancement in the federal government, are disingenuous," said Mr. Michael McCray, Esq., co-founder of the International Association of Whistleblowers and one the chief organizers for the Whistleblower Summit 2013 which took place on Capitol Hill. "I have four degrees and two professional licenses. I continue to apply for federal jobs, yet, I am unable to attain employment with the federal government. Non-minorities, even those with only a high school diploma, simply do not confront the inequity many educated and qualified African Americans face daily when seeking federal jobs."
The seven (7) obstacles in the C4C report include: 1) intentional discrimination, 2) retaliation, 3) the failure to discipline managers for unlawful discrimination, 4) the provision of free legal counsel to all alleged discriminating officials, 5) the unshakable practice of favoritism and nepotism, 6) the Office of Personnel Management's recruitment policies, and 7) the flawed EEOC redress system.
C4C's Federal Workplace Evaluation and Reports Committee prepared the report after in-depth research and extensive consultations with class agents from various key federal agencies and civil rights organizations including th e No FEAR Coalition, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Coalition of Minority Employees, the International Association of Whistleblowers, and the Black Females For Justice II at the Social Security Administration.
"The C4C report, which includes stakeholder
comments, is timely because it coincides with the recent dialogue about the
devastating impact racial biases play on African Americans not just in the
criminal justice system, but also within the executive branch of government,
headed by President Barack Obama, a man of color ," said Jordan. "Officials found guilty of race discrimination
in government rarely, if ever, face discipline."
Further information about the C4C and its' recent report is available online.
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