The NAACP pulled out of an event on South Campus two days after TCC changed the cost of having the event on campus due to the new state ban on diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education.
The college forced the organization to either pay more than $5,000 in extra costs or find another location. The organization instead moved the event to Carter Metropolitan CME Church in Fort Worth on April 5.
The NAACP is the nation’s oldest civil rights organization, and the Fort Worth chapter has been organizing the ACT-SO student competitions at TCC for more than 15 years. ACT-SO stands for Afro-Academic, Culture, Technological and Scientific Olympics sponsorship.
The original fee that ACTSO paid TCC every year for this event is around $400, said Sundra Davis, Fort Worth-Tarrant County Branch ACT-SO Chair. However, two days before the event, TCC informed the organization that the cost would increase to $5,800.
Davis said whether ACTSO or another community event is being held at the college, there should have been a better line of communication about the change.
“I think at some point when the request is made, you say, ‘These are our rates. These are the fees. Do you want to continue?’ Not two days before the actual event,” Davis said. “We spoke on a number of occasions, and that was never mentioned that the rate would be much different than what we had paid in previous years.”
Davis explained that 15 years ago after having the event at Fort Worth ISD when the schools started having Saturday classes, they had to look for a new location.
She said they came to South Campus and having known some individuals there and asked can they bring the high school competition to the campus.
The campus with its many classrooms was a perfect fit for the students who participated in 31 competitions conducted concurrently, she said.
Estella Williams, president of the Fort Worth-Tarrant County NAACP, said that the organization has never been under the impression that TCC was sponsoring the event in all the years it was being held at South Campus.
“Tf it was a sponsorship, we did not know anything about the sponsorship,” Williams said. “We were provided the opportunity to again have our function there, and we paid the fee that was required of us.”
Williams, who is also an alumnus of the college, said that the group had gotten use to a certain protocol from TCC when it came to organizing events.
She said administrators and others from the college frequently supported the event and set up an information table to tell parents and their high schoolers about the different opportunities at TCC.
This time, her experience was different. She said the group had difficulty getting the invoice from the South Campus event coordinator.
The college said Senate Bill 17 prohibits public colleges from supporting or cosponsoring events designed or implemented in reference to race, color, or ethnicity, or that give preferences on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin, so the college could not extend co-sponsorship this year.
Antonio Allen, general counsel for TCC, said in a statement that the college has long valued its relationship with the NAACP.
“We deeply regret the confusion surrounding this year’s facility use and acknowledge that there was an unreasonable delay in communicating the cost estimate to the organizers,” Allen said. “We understand and regret the stress this may have caused the event planners and participants.”
Many events on TCC campuses have been canceled or renamed to stay in compliance with the ban.
“DEI is being thrown around, being put on the table, being put in places,” Willams said. “But you know my concern is that, how is it being interpreted?”
Williams said the interpretation could have perhaps been different based on individual circumstances, and that they couldn’t have come up with the amount of money to pay in such short notice. The organizations plan to meet to discuss the issue, she said.
“There’s a way around doing things in order to continue a relationship, and you don’t break the law,” Williams said. “We’re not law breakers. My thing is that the value was much greater to be able to continue to have this relationship.”
