Shifting the Narrative on Industrial Policy: Opportunities for Genuine Economic Mobility and Good Jobs for Black Communities

 By Gabrielle Smith Finnie, Ph.D.

The brief, Shifting the Narrative on Industrial Policy: Opportunities for Genuine Economic Mobility and Good Jobs for Black Communities, examines how recent federal investments in these sectors can be utilized to create quality jobs and long-term economic mobility for Black workers.

Recent federal investments in expanding high-growth industries, such as manufacturing, technology, and clean energy, present a pivotal opportunity to advance economic mobility for Black workers. These investments offer a window to increase Black workers’ access to “good jobs”— jobs that offer family sustaining wages, benefits, wraparound supports, and career advancement opportunities. Industrial policies, the Investing in America Agenda — encompassing the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) or the “Bipartisan Infrastructure Law” (BIL) (2021), Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) and Science Act (2022), and the Inflation Reduction Act (2022) — includes long-term investments creating jobs and expanding access to education and career advancement opportunities for Black workers nationwide.¹ However, the future implementation, funding, and accessibility of these policies face uncertainty under the current administration. Increasing awareness of the economic and workforce development opportunities in IIJA/BIL, CHIPS and Science Act, and IRA is key to ensuring Black communities can access new pathways for upward mobility.

This project explores eight Black-led and Black-allied organizations’ awareness of and engagement with industrial policy and offers messaging principles — stakeholders such as funders, policymakers, and especially Black-led and Black-allied organizations — can use to underscore the importance of these opportunities in an unpredictable policy landscape.

This brief is part of a new workforce policy series, Centering Black Workers in Emerging Industries, which examines how Black communities can access and equitably thrive in high-growth industries, including manufacturing, technology, and clean energy.

1 “FACT SHEET: The Biden-Harris Administration Advances Equity and Opportunity for Black Americans and Communities Across the Country,” (The White House, February 6, 2024).