Army review draws fire on 2 fronts;Congresswoman, Sharpton press to include smaller minority shops.(Brief Article)

Advertising Age, March, 2000 by Teinowitz, Ira

A leading civil rights activist and a U.S. congresswoman are seeking an audience with officials from the Department of Defense to protest the U.S. Army's decision to effectively exclude minority agencies not partnered with major shops from pitching its $130 million account.

"The Army's request . . . severely impedes the consideration of qualified minority-owned and -targeted advertising businesses," wrote the Rev. Al Sharpton in a letter to Army Secretary Louis Caldera, in which he requested a meeting.

Similar concerns were espoused by U.S. Rep. Carolyn Kilpatrick (D., Mich.), who wrote Defense Secretary William Cohen last week. In her letter, Rep. Kilpatrick warned the Army's requirement that agencies applying for the contract have at least $350...

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