November 22nd 2023.
In October, a shocking incident occurred at a construction site in Cleveland. A cardboard cutout with a noose around its neck and the words "my motivation to work" was found by a sub-contracted worker. The company in charge of the construction, Cleveland Construction, launched an investigation but concluded that the incident was not racially motivated.
However, according to Glen Shumate, the president of the Construction Employers Association, such incidents of racism are far from rare. He told News 5, “I have seen racial graffiti gender, directed graffiti negatively on construction sites.” This indicates that there is a need for training and education to promote equitable opportunities and fair and inclusive treatment in Cleveland’s construction industry.
The City of Cleveland Construction Diversity and Inclusion Committee was established in response to persistent racial and ethnic homogenizing and discrimination in the industry. Despite this effort, Athena Nicole Last, a PhD Candidate in Sociology at Syracuse University, believes Cleveland’s construction industry still suffers from a lack of diversity and inclusion. This environment could be the cause of incidents like the cardboard cutout.
The incident has sparked a wave of activism in Cleveland. On November 20, 2023, members of Unity for the Betterment of Cleveland gathered on the steps of Cleveland City Hall to call for more equitable treatment of Black construction workers. Ariane Kirkpatrick, the CEO of The AKA Team, a full-service commercial construction company, said, “You decide you want to allow these types of things to happen on your job, or you want to say it’s a misunderstanding. I don’t see a misunderstanding with a noose written ‘my motivation to work’ because your motivation is building our motivation to make sure you aren’t on the site anymore.”
Cleveland Construction has issued a response, affirming their zero-tolerance policy against any forms of racial discrimination or harassment. They have requested that the individual involved not return to the project site, and have held a site-wide stand-down to reiterate this policy. It is clear that Cleveland Construction takes the incident seriously and is committed to creating a safe and inclusive work environment.
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