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Who is a minority?CAPITOL COMMENTSGILBERT PRICEIt was dry. dusty stuff -- discussions about dictionary definitions; and where the.line is drawn for the oriental world; and what the intent of the legislature was in 1980But the implication of that dusty talk could be in the millions of dollars. Because the debate is about who is to be considered a minority for purposes of the state s minority business set-aside law.The case is DL2 vs. the Ohio Department of Administrative Services, and it is before Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge Tommy Thompson. At issue is the decertification, by the Ohio Department of Administrative Services, of 65 of the state s approximately 1400 certified minority business enterprises -- those who are of Asian Indian extractionThese firms -- which had been excluded from the program since its inception in 1980 - were certified by the State EEO Division in 1991 after George Vomovich became governorThat addition of Asian Indians to the set-aside program had been pushed for several years by Asian-Indian businesses. Controversy arose surrounding the Vomovich administration s action when it was revealed in the Dayton Daily News that the Asian-lndian businesses, which include some large manufacturing firms and some of the largest architectural and engineering enterprises in the state, had poured about $278,000 into the Vomovich campaign coffers.The action of certifying the Asian Indian firms was made on the basis of the EEO Division s reinterpretation of the grounds for certification -- that companies owned by orientals were to be covered under the law Under the rules drafted by the administration of the Republican James Rhodes and continued under Democrat Richard F Celeste, the term orientals -- defined in the rules to reflect areas including the far east - had been interpreted to excluded Asian Indians.In 1984. under pressure from Asian Indian business groups, the Celeste Administration had prepared a rule change to specifically include Asian Indians. But the proposed rule was vigorously attacked by the Black Elected Democrats of Ohio, which had fought for the bill. Its chairman at the time, the late Rep. C.J. McLm, told a legislative panel hearing the rule change, the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review (JCARR), that the inclusion of Asian Indians in the set-aside had not been contemplated by the legislature. The rule change was withdrawn.After the Vomovich administration added Asian Indians to the program by its reinterpretation of the rules. BEDO continued to fight the ruling. And in July, 1993. Attorney General Lee Fisher came out with an opinion that the Asian Indians should have been excluded from the MBE program. The Vomovich administration immediately began proceedings to decertify: ahearing officer for the state sustained the decertification.But now. the issue before Judge Thompson is not political donations or JCARR proceedings or the attorney general s opinion or even the intent of legislators, some now retired and others dead. No. the issue appears to be a reading of who is an oriental in the dictionary.Fred Gittes, an attorney for the Asian-lndian firms, argued in Thompson s court that it was a pure legal question based on the common definition of the word oriental.Every single definition introduced in the hearing by both parties defines Asian Indians as orientals, Gittes said Asian Indians had been considered orientals under federal set-aside statutes enacted since 1977. Gittes argued.This is a clearly protected class: it was so at the time of the passage of the act. and the argument keeping them out of the program is strained at best.Since the Asian Indians have historically been included in such programs, Gittes argued, the burden is on the state to demonstrate a compelling reason for their exclusionBut the state s attorney. Jerry Kasai, disputed that notion.It's not what oriental could be construed to be. It s what the rule construes it to be, Kasai said. And, while some dictionary definitions of oriental may be expansive, common usage does not include Indian as (part of the) far east. Kasai addedBut there was a broader concern that Kasai expressed, on which the state's position is grounded. Some definitions of oriental apply its meaning to everything east of Turkey - which would include the Arab countries.Under the theory that everything east of Turkey is the orient, everyone in the Middle East could make a constitutional claim to be considered minorities. Kasai saidObviously, the implication of the case is large. If Kasai is m fact correct, the set-aside program could become expanded far beyond its original intent.And it would reflect the ongoing problem that the state s Black legislators face in enacting legislation designed to address the historical discrimination in the state Those who remember the battle over set-asides - and there are a number of them still around -- do not recall any Asian-lndian firms coming forward to fight on behalf of set-asides -- or too many other nationalities, either.The fight was waged by Black legislators, with Black businesspersons coming forward to risk future contracts by describing the discrimination they had faced in the marketplace Most others were remarkably silentBut what has happened, both nationally and locally, is that the intended beneficiaries - the ones who have been most pointedly and directly affected by discrimination, who have told their stories and built the evidentiary record -see their benefits watered down significantly as others begin to reap more and more of the benefits.Several years ago, for example, a study by the Federal Highway Administration found a precipitous drop having occurred in the percentage of dollars going to Black-owned firms under the federal government's disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE) program. While the major drop occurred when women-owned businesses were merged with minority businesses, there was also a declirie in the amount of dollars going to Blacks among other minority groups.In short, it is possible that the insidious impact of racism can become ^institutionalized in the very programs that have been designed to eradicate it, as firms and agencies begin to utilize other, more favored minority groups in place of Blacks if they are ordered to utilize the firms under MBE lawsAnd the idea that Arabs - who have begun to dominate the marketplace for inner-city stores in most of the state s major urban areas - could have minority status under the reading of the states minority business programs rules is certainly a troubling idea for those who are concerned that opportunities for those who have been clearly demonstrated to be the victims of discrimination are seemingly drying up.
Newspaper Details
Cincinnati Call and Post
Cincinnati, Ohio, US
Thu, Jun 23, 1994
Page 3
Full Page
Clipped by
Bowling G.
OH, USA 30 Mar 2025
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