Blackstar Proves The Case for President Biden's American Jobs Plan Prioritizing Racial Equity in Infrastructure Jobs

NEW ORLEANS, May 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Blackstar provided signal detection upgrades for Lafayette's predominantly minority inhabited northside and Baton Rouge's Florida Blvd community, which have historically been systematically discriminated against. This system aids in decreasing unnecessary stops, delays, and ultimately improves emissions. Specifically, Blackstar supplied 171 wireless magnetometer vehicle detection systems throughout Lafayette and also set up and installed the adaptive traffic control system software.

Additionally, Blackstar provided traffic control cabinets and traffic system management upgrades for New Orleans' District E, which includes historically Black communities that were hit hard by Hurricane Katrina.  In a recent op-ed, Mayor Latoya Cantrell described the massive positive impact infrastructure projects have on the city by simply creating an equitable community for all its residents.  Our traffic systems helped "build back better"  Black communities for longevity and growth, not just short term fixes and stagnancy.

Blackstar Excels In Spite of Low Diversity and Inclusion Goals
In April, Know Your Price author and Senior Brookings Institute Fellow, Andre M. Perry, penned an article offering a practical solution to two problems expressed in President Biden's American Jobs Plan. Obviously, the first problem is fixing America's aging infrastructure. Secondly, the plan promises to create more opportunities for small businesses with the lofty goal of advancing racial equity in the process. Perry suggests more investment in Black businesses would essentially kill two birds with one stone. Blackstar believes the first step to doing this is by increasing the minimum Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) goals for infrastructure projects with the ultimate goal of being comparable with the demographics of the community.

For example, the Lafayette project had an estimated construction cost of just over 7 million dollars. Yet, the DBE goal was only 4%. Blackstar alone generated over $400,000 on that project. While that sounds great, Lafayette Parish is roughly 27% Black, according to 2019 census estimates. The same is true for the Baton Rouge job, which had an 8% DBE goal on a roughly 1.9 million dollar project estimate. As of July 2019, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates Baton Rouge to be roughly 55% Black. Both goals are approximately one seventh of the overall population. Again, Blackstar overachieved bringing in over $250 thousand in gross revenue for the project. Combining these two projects with ongoing work for the City of New Orleans, Blackstar has generated over a million dollars in revenue in 2021, which is 20% of projected overall 2021 revenues.

In a previous December 2020 report, Perry noted Black businesses represent only 2.2% of American businesses. Bringing that number to parity with the Black population would mean an almost 7x increase in Black businesses. Furthermore, bringing Black businesses to parity with non-Black businesses from an average revenue perspective, would have a similar impact on total revenue for Black businesses. While government entities can't guarantee revenue for businesses, they can standardize DBE goals on demographics. Essentially, you can't achieve racial economic equity without setting equitable economic goals.

Blackstar Brings Light Manufacturing to the City of New Orleans
Last summer, Blackstar closed on a commercial property that will serve as a light manufacturing facility for electrical control, integrated medium voltage, and custom enclosure mounted equipment assemblies. Blackstar's Gulf Coast location will allow the firm to take advantage of Federal Opportunity Zone, Regional Enterprise Zone, and New Markets Tax Credit Zone investment opportunities. Earlier this year, Blackstar finalized a partnership with International Motor Controls, a leading electrical systems manufacturer for infrastructure. This partnership will help Blackstar re-establish a manufacturing middle class in New Orleans East providing jobs for the local skilled labor force comprised of people who don't necessarily hold college degrees.

About Blackstar
Blackstar is a system integration and infrastructure lifecycle firm founded by a Howard University alum, with sales offices in Baltimore and Nashville, and manufacturing operations in New Orleans. Specializing in UL508 and UL845 distribution equipment along with engineered customization of electrical and traffic control equipment, Blackstar is positioned perfectly for a surge in infrastructure spending. Blackstar's vision is Powering the Future of Construction™ with an intense focus on manufacturing hardware for renewable power distribution and process improvement software for small businesses in the public infrastructure sector.

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SOURCE Blackstar Diversified Enterprises, LLC