Why Does Color Determine Inclusion and Exclusion?

Being perceived through skin color first instead of skills and intelligence was never a non-normal thing. Acts like this turn into a variable of racial consciousness, leading to the segregation of two parallel universes. To live, black people have had to transition seamlessly between these two parallel universes, while most white people are unaware. Racism appears regrettably everywhere: in school, work, and daily life.

National attempts to protect Black spaces are frequently referred to as “grassroots operations,” implying that the deprioritization of Black places through funding agencies is a wide-ranging issue. Many people interpret it as a devaluation of Black communities. For example, Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and the neighboring areas in 2005. Grass Lawn, an Antebellum house (Houses in the 19th-century Southern United States neoclassical architectural style), was among the properties destroyed. Community members donated money to reconstruct the Grass Lawn facility, but were met with fierce opposition from people who viewed Grass Lawn as a mark of racism. In the meantime, many homes and other landmarks of the Black and low-income communities were never rebuilt. Again, this reveals obvious priorities; in this case, Antebellum’s worth is placed above the valuation of Black spaces.

Similarly, only seven historically Black schools and institutions (HBCUs) offer accredited architecture programs. Those seven schools are responsible for graduating 85% of Black architecture students, despite being underfunded and under-resourced (architectmagazine, 2021).

Despite assertions against racism and promises to advance justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion, Black people account for barely 2.8% of all licensed architects in the United States. When confronted with these statistics, it is evident that racism, which promotes inequitable socioeconomic conditions for Black Americans, also outspread architecture. People claim that black architects do not exist at all or that, if they do, they are not good enough. Nevertheless, they are there; they are asking for a chance. Encountering a design firm with less than five Black architects is not rare. Finding Black partners is much harder to come by. As such, they lack the power and direct access to design skylines, create cities and suburbs, and build galleries, residences, educational institutions, workplaces, houses of worship, and other constructions.

Furthermore, the demographic monotony in the architecture profession exposes Black Architects to varied, distressing circumstances, such as receiving a license and then being treated differently than colleagues who acquired their licenses later and had equal credentials and responsibilities. Insecurities developed as a consensus of these collective experiences at the firm as an individual might take years to shake. Today, Black Americans make up approximately 14% of the US population, yet the under-representation of Black architects and designers still mars the architectural profession. Therefore, the firm must acknowledge a licensed Black architect and the talents and expertise the architect brings to the firm as a contributing member of every team. Aside from improving diversity within the profession, the industry must address the need to build more equitable places and cities and include communities of color in these design processes.

Co-conspirators and allies must recognize that commitments made by firms are not just the responsibility of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) staff to fulfill; instead, they are embedded in the firm’s mission. As a result, every employee serves as a steward for that goal. It is encouraged that firms should not make public promises to elevate the Black community only to require their Black employees to be the sole agents of change. Numerous architectural firms, media companies, and professional associations have vowed to address the absence of Black equality in several areas since the Minneapolis police killed George Floyd on May 25, 2020. However, these announcements neglected to result in equalizing the socioeconomic disparity for the Black Architects. Instead, the primary outcomes have been an increase in Instagram followers and a few requests to explain what it is like to be a Black architect to the rest of America.

Unlike many other professions that may have attained a more significant percentage of minority involvement, architecture and design, is not one of them. One of the major concerns is that there are just a few Black architects in leadership positions to look up to, work with, and learn. Being ‘othered’ is the reality of someone in a room or place without another who looks like them. However, it is essential to remain in those rooms and hopefully make rooms for others like them and encourage them to join. The pipeline for the upcoming generation of minority architects and designers has to be strengthened by devoting time and resources if we want to transform the face of architecture.

A system of cultural exclusion that repeatedly erases, degrades, and refutes Blackness should have appropriate repercussions. Going beyond declarations of synchronization and solidarity by designers and architects just for participating in the conversation to meaningful, actual actions may help the architectural profession accomplish long-term, practical change.

Although dismantling racist monuments represents a little step forward, the real work will begin until racist systems are overthrown. The industry can then move toward equity once that occurs. Giving minorities a chance to lead, both on their own and in collaboration with other people, should be standard procedure. Systemic impediments in promotion practices should be reviewed by society, and boards of directors of companies should be more diverse. Universities should broaden their definitions of what constitutes scholarship and the kind of people regarded as scholars. Employers, faculty, and leaders should engage in training from experts in the fields of justice, equality, diversity, and inclusion. Exploration of Blackness as an identity in connection with architecture and a lived experience will encompass a better grasp of Black Americans’ challenges, including Black Architects.

A lengthy history of anti-Black racism in the United States has generated spatial disparities that are ingrained into the physical environment and obliterated the narrative of Black architects and communities. Because society is composed of people with diverse backgrounds, diversity contributes to superior outcomes when designing the built environment. It involves providing improved living conditions for everyone, planned by individuals who consider aspects others would not.

Black Americans have long faced enormous social and economic hurdles, and the architects who helped develop the country were no exception. Several Black architects have managed, developed, and built some of today’s most acclaimed projects. As such, it is critical to incorporate the work of African American architects such as Paul Revere Williams, Robert R. Taylor, Walter T. Bailey, and Wallace Rayfield into classroom learning experiences. By honoring these historical personalities whose legacies continue to influence our present, we can contribute to a shared vision for a fairer future. Additionally, this would assist the students of color to educate their minds to develop their methods of designing their environments and spaces. Students from other backgrounds will have the chance to diversify and strategize their design knowledge and skills. Celebrating the culture of diverse people and learning to design a built environment respecting people’s ways of living would uplift the societies’ harmony and camaraderie, leading to a safe and secure environment.

FOOTNOTES:

Craven, J. (2019, November 10). Black architects after the Civil War. ThoughtCo. Retrieved December 11, 2022, from https:// www.thoughtco.com/african-american-architects-builders-ofamerica-177886

Driskell, S., & Trawalter, S. (2021). Race, architecture, and belonging: divergent perceptions of antebellum architecture. Collabra: Psychology, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1525/collabra.21192

Fazzare, E. (2020, August 6). 15 architects on being black in architecture. Cutlured Mag. Retrieved December 11, 2022, from https://www.culturedmag.com/article/2020/08/06/15-architectson-being-black-in-architecture

Feniak, A. H. (2022, February 18). 12 black architects making history Today. Journal. Retrieved December 11, 2022, from https://architizer. com/blog/inspiration/industry/black-architects-making-history/

Sharika maintains a lifelong passion for architecture, having been involved with diverse professional and learning experiences across the U.S., U.K., and other countries. She is a Committee Member at the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).