Continued from L.A. Times Article page...
Are small black-owned businesses getting their fair share of federal contracts?
We don't feel we are getting a fair share. That's why it's important that we have minority trade associations. It's important that we maintain a level of sensitivity within the public and private sector so they can provide those opportunities to minorities and small businesses. If we went away, if we were not knocking on the doors, then a lot of so-called successful minority and African American firms would fall by the wayside.
How has the contracting landscape changed for black business enterprises?
In terms of federal contracts, the SBA 8(a) program, which gave a competitive edge to minorities, was well-funded. They had a lot of programs within the 8(a) system that helped minorities compete. A lot of those programs are no longer in force, no longer funded by the federal government.
During the Reagan administration, they watered the program down tremendously and developed forced graduation. Today, you have a 10-year window of opportunity. They gave it a nice-sounding phrase: graduation. That sounds nice. Everybody wants to graduate. But the bottom line is you are put out of the program in 10 years.
Isn't 10 years long enough?
Personally, I'm not opposed to graduation. But I feel the clock should really start when a firm first earns a federal contract because it is a process you have to go through in understanding how to do business with the federal government.
What's next for the BBA?
We are looking to bridge our continents in terms of economic development. We are working with the Caribbean islands, [and] Belize, especially, to offer our members business opportunities there.
And we need to create more programs and resources for young entrepreneurs. They are our future.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- cyndia.zwahlen@latimes.com
Guiding hand
Name: Earl "Skip" Cooper II
Title: President and Chief Executive,
Black Business Assn. (www.bbala.org) /
Members: 800 / Budget: $250,000
Also: National Black Business Council Inc. (www.nbbc.org), board member;
Council of Chambers division, California Black Chamber of Commerce (www.calbcc.org),
Los Angeles Opportunities Industrialization Center (www.laoic.org), board member
Background: Cooper, a native of Oakland, is a Vietnam War veteran and has an MBA from USC. He began his small-business advocacy in 1972 as an intern at a business development center in South Los Angeles, worked at the city of Los Angeles' former economic development corporation, then did consulting while working off and on with the Black Business Assn. He returned full time to head the group in 1997.
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Sources: Black Business Assn., Times research
