small , women , minority , and disadvantaged business enterprises in mainstream American enterprise .
Strategically , in the same manner akin to a military operation , California-American Water Company ( CAWC ), like thousands of huge corporate magnates , systematically fights any hint of meaningful progress through an ever-present assortment of tactical administrative or legal weaponry aimed at distraction , diversion , and disruption . In order to clearly comprehend exactly what diversity actually is , it is equally important to understand precisely what diversity is not . Needless to say , diversity is not the pre-selection of a “ chosen few ” over the “ unchosen many .”
In the first instance , dispassionate corporate players use colorful , glossy brochures that publicly present themselves as equal opportunity employers and as leaders “ committed to promoting diversity ” in contracting , with scripted testimonials .
In the second instance , a smiling face is painted on the corporate culture , in the resemblance of persons of color and women as proverbial “ window dressing ,” whose pre-directed objective is to deflect and divert criticism for any lack of achievement by their corporate benefactors . A closer look shows these minions are inherently powerless and merely serve as “ gate keepers ” of the corporate status quo .
In the third instance , the walls of virtually every corporate giant is covered with plaques and awards from everywhere on the planet Earth , attesting to a longstanding so-called “ commitment ” to doing business with small , minority , and women business enterprises . Candidly speaking , it is from the very victims of economic denial--those who live and breathe among us and who have , heretofore , been starved by despair and choked into false hope--where this subversive element finds safest refuge .
Boldly , these large corporate nemeses hold up their ceremonial awards and plaques , nefariously procured through individual black , brown , and yellow chambers of commerce , associations , and other business organizations , voluntarily giving away--at no charge--the heart and soul of potential collective progress . Although innocently conferred in virtual isolation from the rest , the discriminating subversive finds just cause to continue its perpetual practice of prejudice .
For example , pending Ratepayer Intervenor proceedings are now scheduled to begin before the California Public Utilities Commission involving CAWC ’ s small , women , and minority contracting program . This is one among many relevant examples of just how pervasive subversion of diversity remains a problem and provides important insight on this subject .
The tireless efforts by the NAMCO have long been underway to informally establish a mutually beneficial business relationship with CAWC , without the necessity of either government regulation , or Affirmative Action . However , this attempt has , instead , drawn an affirmative reaction from CAWC . In a nutshell , this eight billion dollar per year corporate giant has awarded just $ 1,200.00 to Black female owned and operated businesses . Despite such an abysmally low failure rate , CAWC rejected a reasonable proposal to establish a good faith partnership and , instead , chose to defend its zero sum non-achievement by professing to possess a proud and unparalleled record of “ diversity .”
Undaunted , CAWC has signaled that money and power equals influence and , in no uncertain terms , has challenged NAMC and , in essence , all diversity advocates to simply prove that its apparent and appalling failure is , indeed , what it is--a failure . Here , in the name of diversity CAWC , thereby , asserts it is wholly acceptable to include one racial and gender group over the other , under the rubric of “ diversity .”
In the 1960 ’ s , Reverend Joseph Lowry said that we can ill-afford to get caught up in the paralysis of analysis and lose sight of what we must do to be united for change . Dr . Martin Luther King , Jr ., made clear that patience is the enemy of people of color , and that direct action means those of us who have been more fortunate than the next have a duty to fight for justice today even as our predecessors unselfishly fought for us yesterday .
Stated differently , if one single protected class is excluded , without just cause , from a piece of the “ American Pie ” predicated on race or gender , we as responsible members must not simply express genuine concern at a distance , from the creature comforts of a fine home and a nice car , but we must be ready to decisively act at anytime and anywhere that injustice visits . In 1964 , when Fannie Lou Hamer lost patience with waiting for the right to vote in Mississippi , she formed the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee . Rosa Parks lost patience when she refused to give up her seat on an Alabama bus in Montgomery . Just as these , and other women of color , moved toward change , NAMCO , in that same vein , is no different . You should be proud , as I am , that NAMCO in fact , lost patience with the CAWC .
To be fully cognizant of exactly what $ 1,200.00 in total contract awards made to Black Women business enterprises represents , that , alone should produce as much outrage and righteous indignation today as it did when Ms . Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white man on December 1 , 1955 .
In this modern era , at a time when the First Lady of the United States of America , Michele Obama , is a woman of color , CAWC still requires Black Women to ride the back of the economic bus . If we remain silent and do nothing , the result