Enough of Blame-the-Black-Guy for Covid’s Troublesome Aftermath
One Black appointed official whom I deeply respect has come under fire – unfairly, in my opinion – for his piloting of a major public agency still recovering from the Covid 19 epidemic.
A group of self-appointed critics in a recent Chicago Tribune opinion piece has called for the termination of CTA President Dorval Carter, blaming him for the transit agency’s slow recovery from the recent world-wide viral scourge.
This is unfair on several levels. For one thing, all major metro transit systems have been slow to recoup ridership post-Covid as we witness a major shift in corporate work patterns. Millions are still Zoom-ing from home instead of strap-hanging to the office. For another, we are experiencing a nationwide labor shortage, making it all but impossible for employers to staff-up to pre-pandemic levels.
But as a longtime advocate of Black business and managerial leadership, let me make another argument on behalf of Dorval R. Carter, Jr. Fact is, Black Chicago can ill afford to lose a champion such as Dorval. Indeed, he is exactly the kind of executive we desperately need at a time when many young African-Americans are struggling to find their place in a fast-changing economy.
While it may be easy to blame the guy-in-charge for train and bus delays, this particular guy has performed admirably in the face of unprecedented challenges. Think of it. CTA is the nation’s 2nd largest transit agency, handling 1.5 million riders on a average weekday and serving 35 surrounding suburbs. Carter oversees more than 10,000 CTA employees and has overseen over $8 billion in projects since his appointment in November of 2017.
Black Jobs Matter
In 2000, under Mayor Richard M. Daley, Chicago enacted a DBE program for CTA. But it was Carter’s leadership and commitment to Disadvantaged Business Enterprises that actually put Black boots-on-the-ground in key CTA positions. The former chief of staff to the U.S. Secretary of Transportation also promoted Black construction companies, making sure they had access to contract bidding and that Black workers actually got the jobs, often after attending CTA-sponsored JOBS Fairs.
My own company, Comprehensive Construction Consultants, has employed a staff of 13 ranging from site inspectors to project managers, all benefitting from policies promulgated under Carter’s watch. Over the span of his presidency we’ve performed over 1 million billable hours on CTA projects.
Mind you, Carter has not misappropriated any funds. He has not gotten drunk on the job. And clearly he has not violated any city, state or federal rules regarding leadership abuse toward staff. So what’s the issue? That a Black man has too much power and clout?
Casual Critics…
One online critic charges that Carter should be fired for offenses such not using his “unlimited work credit cards” or riding CTA trains and busses often enough. What in the Sam Hill does riding the CTA and using your own credit card have to do with anything? Or driving your own car in order to manage staff in remote locations?
Sadly, such attacks on Carter are nothing new to Black, powerful, intellectually competent elected and appointed public officials. Now we have the first African American leader of the CTA being pilloried and keel-hauled,, lambasted and bedeviled, with drivel-edged charges.
So what’s at stake here? Black Chicago is at stake! Not only are the attacks on Carter harmful to Black business, but to the crucial provision of dependable transportation to the South and West Sides of the city. In other words, a Black Champion for African Americans is under assault.
Action Items…
So what needs to be done?
1. Black voters in Chicago must become informed – and incensed – that this attack on an integrity-laden public official will impact some 75% of Black Chicagoans’ daily lives.
2. Do not assume that #1 is easy. Because Black Chicago is not a monolith. One Black elected official, who I deeply admire and respect, has little love for Dorval. She accused him of being disrespectful and non-communicative. So there is work to be done on Dorval’s team also. This bears repeating. Dorval’s team needs to mend fences.
3. Black Business needs to rally round Dorval, not because I say so but because the reach of CTA Leadership is critical to all Chicago’s Black Businesses. I am urging Charles Smith of the Business Leadership Council and others to join me in a Zoom meeting to consider supportive next steps for President Carter.
4. Black Media needs to weigh in on this. African Americans in Chicago cannot be too tired or too busy to protest publicly over yet another Black man being crucified by the white press.
5. Hermene Hartman, Avis Lavelle, Melanie Spann Cooper and other dynamic, well informed Media Mavens should examine the good, the bad and the ugly sides of the CTA’s post-pandemic situation and point out that Dorval Carter’s team is “open” to all constructive suggestions. How much access did Black media have to Forest Claypool, Dorval’s predecessor? And what chances would y’all have with a newbie, unsure of his or her local experience, or where their loyalties reside?
The need now is to inform and educate Black Chicago on the importance and significance of a kindred spirit in CTA Leadership and the importance of protecting and defending Dorval.
No Backward Steps…
Last, but not least, among these action items is that Dorval is a member – as am I — of Alpha Phi Alpha, the nation’s preeminent African-American collegiate fraternity. It’s an organization dedicated to “the causes of humanity, freedom, and dignity of the individual.” Our go-to slogan is “No Backward Steps.” Once we have achieved this, there’s no reverse in our respective gear systems.
So I will ask Larry Holloway and Farad Ali, leaders of Chicago Alpha Chapters, to host a hybrid meeting of the Divine 9 Fraternities and Sororities to consider the next steps we can take to defend and protect the gains we have made in the person of this special CTA leader. A mind is a terrible thing to waste, and so too is a noble Black leader like Dorval Carter. Me? I will take the responsibility of talking to my Alpha Kappa Alpha roommate and seek to get the AKA sorority involved.
Then there’s our pocketbook appeal. We need to enlist numerous CTA board members and officials — past and current — like Ernest Sawyer, Bill Mooney, Juan Pablo Prieto, and Brittany Johnson. Not just to get their perspective on the situation but for them to communicate with the many CTA vendors who have benefitted from the agency’s business during President Carter’s term.
We’re not asking for money. We are not suggesting political conflicts. What we seek is testimony and witness to the importance of CTA remaining under the helm of Dorval Carter. Steve Mayberry is a key contact on Dorval’s team, He can be reached through the team assembled by the Divine 9 and the Business Leadership Council led by Charles Smith.
Those of us who have run a business during the last six years well know what the icy, slippery terrain on which we’ve trod – during Covid 19, short staffing, jacked interest rates, and the rest – have done.
Dorval has provided trusted leadership during all of this, securing billions in federal funding to support and expand public transit for all Chicagoans. Like a young mind, such a leader would be a terrible thing to waste. Let us do justice by Dorval!
Paul King is a construction consultant and member of Chicago’s Business Leadership Council.
