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January/February 2012
Barbara Oliver |
The American Contract Compliance Association
will mark their 26th Anniversary National Training Institute in Philadelphia
later this year. The event is designed to educate a new generation of contract
compliance and supplier diversity professionals about their history and to "rekindle
the spirit, passion, energy and commitment for economic empowerment."
We sometimes forget that
there are more "nubies" to contract compliance and
supplier diversity, and less of us veterans who know the history. As
one such advocate put it, "Not everyone knows what M/WBE even
stands for. These same folk certainly don't understand what it
was invented for, [or] the value of it."
This is not to say that these new advocates are
not passionate and committed, but many have been thrown into their positions
with little understanding of what they are fighting for. It is incumbent on
MBE magazine, and those of us that truly understand, to teach the lessons
we learned from our struggles. In this case, there is absolute truth in the
saying, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
The above-mentioned advocate took it upon himself to
share some of his wisdom in subsequent postings, which MBE
magazine has shared this month on our LinkedIn group page
and our blog at www.minoritybusiness.blogspot.com.
He references Croson and Adarand, two of the
most influential court decisions, affecting contract compliance.
MBE magazine reported extensively on these decisions,
what they meant, and their likely effects. We will share
these on our blog as well as new Google+ site.
If you are a supplier diversity advocate or minority
or woman business enterprise in need of a refresher course, I encourage you
to visit our social networks and join the conversations going on now. You may
be surprised by what you can learn.
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