When the System Shows Its Hand: Sacred Work, Shady Process

About this episode

The episode discusses the complexities and challenges surrounding Washington State's reparations study for African Americans, highlighting issues with the procurement process.

Okay family, pull up a chair because we need to talk. Washington State recently became the third state in America to fund a reparations study for African Americans, and it should be a moment to celebrate. The Legislature allocated $300,000 in seed funding, and the Washington Equity Now Alliance — a community-based organization doing the real work — raised another $450,000 to ensure this sacred study is done right. Governor Ferguson signed the law that spells out who’s qualified to lead the study: a PhD focused on reparations, peer-reviewed publications, expertise in calculating uncompensated slave labor, and lived experience. So far, so good, right? But here’s where it gets messy. The Department of Commerce is creating its own procurement rules, and its decisions are now preventing the community from securing qualified consultants for this work. Somehow, an “apparent successful bidder” has been named – a company called Truclusion that doesn’t appear to meet ANY of the legal requirements got through the procurement process — while the nation’s leading reparations scholar, an UCLA endowed chair and Howard University department head who…

People in this episode

Hosts: Audrey, Melannie

Guest: Jesse Wineberry Sr.

Topics covered

• reparations
• Washington State
• community engagement
• procurement process

Keywords

• equity
• consultants
• legislation
• community-based organization

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: PhD, a BOOK on Reparations

Places: Washington State, America, Washington, the United States

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