Ida Byrd-Hill believes George Floyd Justice begins with Eliminating Institutionalized “I Can’t Breathe” Moments

The physical murder of George Floyd is replicated economically every single day of the year as African American take a “Knee in the Neck”.

In the book, Invisible Talent Market, highlights the idea that “Booker T. Washington presented slavery plantations as the industrial training that left Blacks after the Civil War“ in possession of nearly all the common and skilled labor in the South.

He stated “In most cases if a Southern White man wanted a house built, he consulted a Negro mechanic about the plan and about the actual building of the structure. If he wanted a suit of clothes made he went to a Negro tailor, and for shoes he went to a shoemaker of the same race.” In fact, the Land Grant College Act of 1862 was spurred by this dearth of industrial skills of Whites after slavery.

These stereotype has been normalized into society’s culture and baked into the foundational policies of institutions. This is INSTITUTIONAL RACISM. Corporations, municipalities and philanthropies practice this institutional racism every day ‘MURDERING’ African Americans economically.

INSTITUTIONAL RACISM has allowed HR departments to create ‘cultural fit’ concept to keep African Americans out of high-paying tech jobs.

INSTITUTIONAL RACISM has allowed unions to create non-standardized exams without published scores to keep African Americans out of construction and manufacturing jobs.

INSTITUTIONAL RACISM has allowed managers to write stereotypical statements, such as “You lack work ethic” or “you are aggressive” into performance appraisals to limit career promotion.

INSTITUTIONAL RACISM has caused mass incarceration of Black people as every action is criminalized.

INSTITUTIONAL RACISM has caused companies to create tech products like face recognition that do not detect Black people accurately, yet criminal justice department desire to utilize as a tool.

INSTITUTIONAL RACISM has allowed police departments to lynch and beat African Americans, without punishment, for 155 years as they did during slavery.

George Floyd justice demands American leaders to reflect, “Is my institutional policies and actions ‘MURDERING’ or ‘UPLIFING’ African Americans? The answer is measured in the number of African American Board members, Executives, Managers, professionals and skilled trades you have hired. If the number is less than the percentage of African Americans in the US population, 14%, per category, then your institution is ‘MURDERING’ African Americans. Make the investment to ensure that George Floyd justice becomes a reality.