Where Is the “Fair Share” for Black Businesses? A GDN Exclusive

Victor Herbert

My name is Dr. Victor Hebert. I lived in Fayetteville for 24 years (1984-2008) and served as a professor at Fayetteville State University. In visiting Fayetteville, North Carolina, this past week, I noticed a $97 million Bond issue on the ballot for the upcoming November election. This Bond issue is a heist perpetrated in the Fayetteville Black community. 98% or 99% of this money will mainly go into White pockets. For projects and plans stated for the Bond, someone today knows where every dollar of that money goes. Plans and decisions are already determined about who gets the money. It is without question that bond money will not be available for Black property owners and taxpayers who will pay for the Bond. Black residents are 30% to 40% of the Fayetteville and Cumberland County population. There should be Black engineering firms, Black construction firms, Black managers, Black work superintendents, Blacks in high-paying jobs like operating heavy equipment, Blacks in delivery services to these construction sites, and many other ways of putting portions of that $97 million into at least 30% of Black resident pockets in Fayetteville.

With amorphous indications of projects and expenditures in the request for a vote to approve the Bonds, a grand heist appears to be in progress. Victims of this heist will be the Black community in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Language in the Bond request opens doors for spending money according to the whims of an amorphous someone who is unidentified. For example, it is stated in the “housing opportunity” Bond that a maximum of $12 million would “support housing opportunity initiatives making Fayetteville a desirable place to live for all residents.” This kind of ambiguous language opens doors for grift. Also, with “Public Safety” asking for $60 million, it is stated that “possible projects could include Fire Stations.” This matter of “possible” and “could include” opens doors for the heist to be perpetrated and openly militate against direct benefit to Black pockets in Fayetteville. The same is true for the “Public infrastructure” section. This section also has “possible projects” and “could include” statements. These statements suggest that this Bond matter is a heist affecting mainly Black Taxpayers in Fayetteville, Cumberland County, North Carolina.

These Bonds should be voted down and rejected until it is clear how the Black community of Fayetteville and all of North Carolina will benefit from the $97 million. At least 30% of the $97 million Bond should go into Black pockets rather than just into white pockets alone. At least $30 million should be allocated for Black contractors,  work superintendents, engineers, and heavy equipment operators. There should also be loans to Black construction companies to buy equipment to complete Bond projects. Other ways for a Black community benefit from this $97 million Bond issue should be identified before voting for it.

Black residents and the Black community are specified here because Black people were enslaved for 400 years in America, not “people of color.” We should not see the same thing happen to us as when we allowed ourselves to be labeled “minorities.” Our Black politicians should know intricate details about how this money will be spent, by whom, and with whom. And, Black taxpayers should correspondingly know as well.

The Bonds should be voted down this election cycle to allow a more precise and transparent “quid pro quo” basis for the Black vote, along with the voice of other fair-minded people of color and White people. I don’t envy white brothers and sisters or people of color receiving their fair share of this golden pot. But, at this point in our history, we need specifics spelled out and adhered to, for all our sakes.

We need every Black leader and all Black elected officials to trumpet this matter into every nook and cranny of Fayetteville, Cumberland County, North Carolina, before the November Election. The as of now, amorphous benefits of the Bonds can wait for a more equitable assignment of funds to produce a great Fayetteville.

Dr. Victor Hébert, Retired Professor of Music