COALITION ESTABLISHED TO ENSURE BLACK MEDIA IS NOT LEFT OUT

Larry Ivory, Hermene Hartman, Dorothy Leavell, Theresa Haley and Harry Lennix spoke during The Coalition for Black Media Equity press conference. The coalition is calling on the state government to implement the sheltered market to resolve the disparity in contracts when it comes to ad buys. Photo by Tia Carol Jones
Larry Ivory, Hermene Hartman, Dorothy Leavell, Theresa Haley and Harry Lennix spoke during The Coalition for Black Media Equity press conference. The coalition is calling on the state government to implement the sheltered market to resolve the disparity in contracts when it comes to ad buys. Photo by Tia Carol Jones

Coalition established to ensure Black media is not left out

BY TIA CAROL JONES
     The Coalition for Black Media Equity says that Black media has been overlooked during the pandemic when it comes to support as small businesses.

     Calling for equity, the coalition gathered to talk about why it’s important for Black media to challenge the state of Illinois and to make sure Black media is not being left out.

     “One of the things that we’ve come to understand is that Black media is essential to Black people and Black people’s survival,” said Larry Ivory, chairman of the Illinois Black Chamber of Commerce. “When Black media fails and does not thrive, it impacts all of us in a very specific way.”
 
     Ivory said Black media is Black business. He said the state of Illinois spends several billion dollars on advertising and marketing and when it comes to Black media, it spends less than one percent.

     “I don’t know about you, but one percent of billions of dollars is not participating,” he said.

     Ivory said the media and IT have been declared a sheltered market by the Business Enterprise Program Council.

     The goal of a sheltered market is to address disparities and discrimination and to ensure state contracts are specifically set aside for minorities, women and people with disabilities. He said it was supposed to be a vehicle for the Black media to participate in state marketing and advertising.

     “When you look at COVID-19, what we saw on a consistent basis, contracts led in the Black community, focus on Black people and what was happening was at the end of the day, Blacks in advertising and marketing were not getting the contracts,” he said.

     Ivory said because Black media has a degree of cultural sensitivity, it was odd that Black media did not have contracts.

     “We’re asking Governor Pritzker to exercise his authority to make sure that [the] sheltered market is not just a conversation, but we’re implementing [the] sheltered market to correct the disparity and actually follow the law,” he said. “That’s all we’re asking is for people to follow the law and make sure Black media is not left out.”

     Dorothy Leavell, editor and publisher of the Crusader Newspapers, said the Black media has been grossly overlooked for way too long.

     “How do we know people are talking to us if they don’t use our vehicles,” she said. “I’m grossly disappointed in that there are laws on our books, and they are not being carried out.”

     Leavell said all the Black media outlets in the city of Chicago and beyond, have their value. She said it is the Black media’s role to continue to inform the Black community.

     “We are going to fight for what our community deserves and that is to have information. Continue to support the Black press,” she said.
Theresa Haley, state president of National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said she wanted to see Black media get involved with the campaigns surrounding COVID-19.

     “It’s time out for us to be the sub-contractor. We are qualified, educated and we have enough tools in our toolbox to be the main contractors,” said Haley, who is also the Springfield Branch president of the NAACP.

     Haley said Black media needs to demand that 20-25 percent of contracts from state government. She encouraged the Black media to reach out and connect with other organizations for resources they might not have.

     “Let’s start standing up. Let’s go to social media,” she said. “If they won’t give us the contracts, lets create our own.”

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