It seems like we have watched this cycle go on forever, election after election, year after year, generation after generation: Black people are not at the table when it counts. Not being at that table during budget processes is devastating. “ODOT to Oregon lawmakers: Find $5.1 billion for bridges and roads, or watch economy collapse, Portland Public Schools’ $16.8 million windfall could lead to immediate relief in crowded schools, Portland could have a windfall of more than $15 million in new money to spend during the next few fiscal years”. Here are just a few examples of the headlines giving a glimpse of the dollars to be spent without recognizable black emphasis or input. Continue reading Why Can’t Blacks Get To the Table? →

To the average citizen most agency transparency efforts are clear as mud.

While federal, state, county and city agencies profess to have robust public transparency policies, it is a very difficult process to navigate. The key is getting discernable information that is useful. It is almost a full time job to extract information that makes sense. Unless you are a numbers geek or have unlimited time and resources, this is a discouraging proposition. And we think the agencies want it that way. Continue reading What Transparency? →