Members of the Washington State Civil Rights Coalition (WSCRC), a non-partisan organization that advocates for fair treatment of minority businesses, claim that the Port of Seattle has violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as it relates to the termination of lease agreements between the Port and minority owned businesses.
At a Port Commission meeting held last Tuesday, the group alleged that a former port employee, who worked in the Airport’s Airport Concession Disadvantage Business Enterprise (ACDBE) program, conspired with a consulting firm to provide a basis to terminate the lease of some minority business that were doing business with the Port.
According to emails obtained by WSCRC, the consulting firm (Air Project), which magistrate the application process of which businesses can receive funding and/or opportunity to do business with the Port of Seattle and the airport, advised senior Port staff on policies to remove minority firms from the selection process, by placing procedural and criteria roadblocks on minority businesses.
One of the emails allegedly written between the two parties reads as follows:
Former Port Employee State, “Yes, this of course is exactly what I was thinking, and I confirmed yesterday that I can demand financials…” “My strong belief is that they (the businesses) will not, as they never have been willing to do so in the past, provide financial information.”
Air Project employee’s reply to this was, “If the businesses refuse to participate by not providing the necessary information, then there is no way they (the business) can legitimately “cry foul” anymore.”
According to Eddie Rye, Jr., a representative from the Community Coalition for Contracts and Jobs, the emails in question were, “one of the most vile and racist documents I’ve seen.”
Rye presented the information to the Port Commission, which included a statement from Hayward Evans, co-chair of the Washington State African American Political Action Committee requesting an investigation into the allegations.
“We believe Air Project has successfully assisted the Sea Tac Airport staff to develop a platform of Economic Apartheid by denying the inclusion of minority businesses, therefore Air Project consulting contracts should be immediately frozen until an investigation is complete,” read Evans letter.
Evans also claims that the Port is spending too much time fighting claims than trying to find feasible solutions for greater inclusion of disadvantage businesses.
“The Air Project email string to (a Port official) appears as a conspired plan to remove ACDBEs from airport retail locations and became the foundation for discrimination lawsuits against the Port of Seattle who spent over 1.3 million dollars of the tax payer’s money fighting three minority ACDBEs from October 2014 to April 2016,” Evans statement read.
Many activists are watching this issue closely, but most agree that the Port Commission has its hands full determining if the grievance of discrimination is warranted.
