C4C

The Coalition For

Change, Inc. (C4C)
P.O. Box 142
Washington, DC 20044
T. Ward Jordan
L.O.R., B.A., M.S.
Founder

P. D. Taylor
B.A., M.P.A.
President
W. Berry
B.S.
Treasurer

M. Castelle, Sr.
Diversity Chair

M. Haywood
Greetings and Outreach
Chair
B.S., LOMA Cert

K. Kareem
M.B.A., D.M.
Advisory
Committee Chair

A. Martin
B.S., M.S.
Mental and Spiritual
Well-being Chair

P. Taylor
A.A., B.A.
Civil Rights Chair

D. Williams
B.A., M.S., J.D.
Legislative Research Chair
www.coaltion4change.org
C4C@coalition4change.org
1-866-737-9783

May 29, 2013

Chair Jacqueline A. Berrien

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
131 M Street, NE
Washington, DC 20507
Dear Chair Berrien:
The Coalition For Change, Inc., (C4C) writes to inform you that although
the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) did not invite the C4C to
participate as a stakeholder in its most recent investigation of Obstacles Facing
African Americans in the Federal Workplace, we will soon provide you with our
detailed comments. For we find the EEOC African-American Workgroup report,
with its myopic focus on unconscious bias, spurious and misleading. The report
clearly downplays the harsh and pervasive nature of systemic discrimination and
retaliation in the federal sector. It also failed to provide a discussion on
"institutional barriers that are very conscious. Since issuing the report, the
EEOC has failed to explain how the agency will monitor and/or execute invited
stakeholders recommendations. Neither has the EEOC established any target
timeframes in which to complete the recommendations. Such failures sorely
undermine efforts to timely and wholly remove barriers African-Americans face in
the federal workplace, our nations largest employer.
In compiling your report, the EEOC held discussions with stakeholders
such as African American Federal Executives Association, Federally Employed
Women, Federal EEO Directors and Blacks in Government to identify obstacles
faced by minority employees in the workplace. Certainly, the EEOC invited
stakeholders comprised a large segment of the black community in federal
employment. Nevertheless, a vital segment of the community was excluded from
this important discourse aggrieved and harmed black current and former
employees. They are able to serve as an invaluable resource because of their
ability to confirm and inform the panel about specific acts of discrimination and
harassment practiced or trends and policies implemented in federal agencies.
C4C, a non-profit group, is a proactive civil rights organization and
support network for African-Americans seeking to end racial injustice and
retaliation in the federal workplace. Our members include present and former
federal employees, who were injured or harmed as a result of employment
discrimination and / or retaliation for engaging in the formal complaint process
purportedly protected activity. As such, our organization is in a unique position
to comment, contribute to, and offer balance to any discourse on discrimination or
harassment in federal employment. Notably, many of our members have suffered
the pangs of very conscious discriminatory acts, which have impeded their
employment, such as being blacklisted by agency officials after exposing

Letter to Chair Berrien

May 29, 2013
[Corrected]
Pg.2

violations of the Notification and Federal Employee Anti-discrimination and

Retaliation Act in the workplace. Because our members can speak directly to
obstacles facing African-Americans in the federal sector, we request to be a part
of any future stakeholder meetings addressing this focus.
In closing, C4C members are keenly interested in promoting a workforce
culture that promotes the mental, physical and spiritual well-being of individual
workers, particularly African-Americans. Therefore, we will continue to address
inequality in the federal workplace. We will also forward a copy of our detailed
report, with recommendations, to foster a workplace free of discrimination.
| signed |
Tanya Ward Jordan, Founder
The Coalition For Change, Inc. (C4C)

cc:
President Barack Obama
Representative Elijah Cummings, Committee on Oversight and Government
Reform
Representative Marcia L. Fudge, Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus
Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton
Mr. Lawrence Lucas, President-USDA Coalition of Minority Employees
Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo, Chair-No FEAR Coalition
Mr. Stacy Brown, The Washington Informer
Mr. Matthew Hay Brown, The Baltimore Sun
Mr. Joe Davidson, The Washington Post