Local NAACP Wants Feds to Investigate GDOT for Discrimination

The Local NAACP Chapter from Metro Atlanta, near Southwest Atlanta, has asked the Federal Government to investigate the practices of GDOT and how they award their business contracts.

NAACP believes that the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) has discriminated against Black subcontractors by not awarding enough contracts to these businesses.

A letter from the state NAACP president Edward DuBose to Attorney General Eric Holder, said that there is an "ongoing, systematic and deliberate practice of under-utilizing minority businesses."

NAACP inquiry came on the heels of a report that GDOT commissioned that said that only 2.4% of its contracts from 2009 to 2011 went to Black-owned businesses while those same businesses make up over 14 % of the total number of businesses eligible to perform the jobs.

NAACP's request for help from the Feds came at the same time as citizens were asked to vote on a Transportation Tax.  Many proponents of the tax used the fact that it would bring more jobs to Southwest Atlanta as a way to sell the idea to voters, but others armed with the same report said that GDOT would likely NOT give many of these opportunities to our Black contractors anyway.

The Transportation Referendum was eventually voted down by the people on the July 31st Ballot.  GDOT spokesperson, Goldberg, has responded to the NAACP via an AJC article by saying, "the allegation that the GA DOT willfully discriminates against any segment of the population is irresponsible."

The Department of Justice has not said whether they will look into the allegations or not.