A lawsuit filed June 2 by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against San Antonio, Texas-based general contractor CCC Group claiming white supervisors and co-workers bullied and threatened Black workers and used racial slurs at a jobsite in Albany County, N.Y., underlined a hard truth: Racism still occurs in construction and related fields.
Black leaders in the industry told ENR that the death of George Floyd on May 25 at the hands of police and subsequent protests appear to have opened the door to more frank discussions, not just about generic diversity and inclusion in the construction workforce, but about meaningful opportunities for change for Black employees and entrepreneurs.