Dec. 21, 2013
Virginia State University Rector Rebuffs NAACP Request
By Jeremy M. Lazarus
VSU Rector Harry E. Black
Va. NAACP Executive Director Salim Khalfani
Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from the Richmond Free Press
(TriceEdneyWire.com) - No.That was the quick response when a top state NAACP official asked to speak to Virginia State University’s board of visitors.
The aim: To push inclusion of Black-and minority-owned companies in the construction of the school’s new $84 million convocation center.
The rebuff came from Harry E. Black, the VSU rector or board chairman,whom the university says has discretion to make the decision.“Although our meetings are open to the public, we typically do not have a public comment period,” Black wrote in responding to the speaking request from King Salim Khalfani, the Virginia State NAACP’sexecutive director.
A surprised Khalfani called the speaking ban a first: “In my 21-year tenure with the NAACP, I have never been denied an opportunity to address a public university’s board.” A former top Richmond city official who now manages Baltimore city’s finances, did offer an alternative in his Dec.16 rejection letter, which was obtained by the Free Press.
He said he would set up a meeting between Khalfani, himself and top university officials to focus on business diversity. No date for that meeting has been set. Khalfani has accepted the meeting invitation, but also has appealed to Black to reconsider the ban on him speaking at the Jan. 16 board meeting. Khalfani told the Free Press that he wanted to let the board know “how important it is for them to ensure inclusion in building the convocation center. As a historically Black university, I believe they have a special responsibility to make that happen.”
He said state reports show VSU ranks near the bottom among state agencies and schools in the amount of contracts or subcontracts awarded to Black-owned businesses.
He said, “The convocation project provides VSU with an opportunity to show that it recognizes it needs to improve.”