Infrastructure Plan and Minority Contractors
President Biden’s Infrastructure Plan can be likened to a lion’s face: hairy and resolute but doesn’t smile. The Plan’s announcement was indeed massive and hairy, received and continues to get positive vibes, but there will be no smiles if its implementation excludes minority contractors.
The money allocated for the construction of homes, schools, roads, bridges and other infrastructure, promises greener pastures for the U.S. economy.
Mega construction companies are looking forward to counting the greenback, not minority contractors who might not have the financial capacity, but are good in what they do, but are under-paid.
There are many hurdles, but the first excuse is that they don’t have the experience for mega projects, which is ironic because slaves built America for free. In the South, they built roads, stores and prisons where they were thrown in for non-existent offences. They also built their own homes and places of business.
Slavery was just the beginning. Early immigrants from Europe entered the construction industry through the family. Members of certain families dominated most trades, through apprenticeship. Europe also had craft guilds, which regulated work and who could apprentice.
They brought craft guilds to America, another strike-out for African Americans, firstly because settlers deemed themselves superior as soon as they left ships on Ellis Island. Secondly, African Americans did not have the experience (European) necessary to join guilds.
Despite historical and on-going barriers, African Americans are still in construction and City Hall and state apparatus must ensure that they have a cut from Biden’s Infrastructure Plan.
Another ‘written podcast’ by Nonqaba waka Msimang.
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