This guide was created to explore the legacy of prominent Black voices in architecture and discuss racism, social movements, and civil rights as they manifest in the built environment at the intersection of housing, transit, density, urban development, decay and discrimination.
Note: For any books or media where a purchase is necessary, please consider using your local library or, if you’re unable to, a Black-owned independent bookstore. Libraries offer services and products that level the intellectual playing field. They allow people of any income level or background to access high-quality information, to use computers, to borrow materials they want or need. The best way to support local libraries is by using them, even though you, yourself, may not need to. By supporting libraries, you are supporting the people that do have that need. Together we can create a more equitable future for everyone.
Book List
Black Southern Belle (Michiel Perry)’s Books to Explore African American Architecture
GoodReads’ Black Architecture, Planning, Urban Design List
Samantha Daly’s 7 Books You Need to Read on the Intersection of Race and Culture in America
University of North Carolina at Charlotte’s Three New Books on Race and Architecture
Articles
Architectural Digest, Elizabeth Fazzare and Carly Olson: Barrier-Breaking African American Architects We Should Be Celebrating
Common Edge, Michael J. Crosbie: Hidden Figures: The Historic Contributions of Black Architects
Interior Design, Jesse Dorris: 10 Pioneering African American Architects and the Legacy Buildings They Designed
Architect, Hannah McCann: 0.2%
Dandelion Chandelier, Julie Murphy: Who Are the Top Black Architects in American Right Now?
Film
PBS SoCal’s Hollywood’s Architect
Master Builders: A Documentary Featuring African Americans Architects in the Nation’s Capital
Podcasts
Architecture is Political: Architecture & Mapping Segregation in DC
Architect Magazine: Why Architects Should Be ‘ALL In’ for Diversity
EntreArchitect: Sharing Stories of Detroit’s Black Architects at Noir Design Parti
Layers of Design Podcast: Architecture Reaches It’s Full Potential When Encompassing Multiple Cultures
Tangible Remnants: Taking up Space w/ Morgan C.B. Miles & Rasheda Tripp
Instagram Accounts to Follow
Organizations
National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) – NOMA’s mission, rooted in a rich legacy of activism, is to empower our local chapters and membership to foster justice and equity in communities of color through outreach, community advocacy, professional development and design excellence.
Association for Community Design (ACD) – A network of individuals, organizations, and institutions committed to increasing the capacity of planning and design professions to better serve communities. ACD serves and supports practitioners, educators, and organizations engaged in community-based design and planning.
Black Interior Designers Network — The Black Interior Designers Network’s mission is to promote diversity and inclusion within the interior design industry by highlighting designers of color and supporting black designers with business development opportunities.
Organization of Black Designers — OBD is a national professional organization of interior, industrial, architectural, fashion and graphic designers dedicated to promoting the visibility, empowerment, education and interaction of its membership and the understanding and value that diverse design perspectives contribute to world culture and commerce.
Black Females in Architecture — Black Females in Architecture (BFA) is a network and enterprise founded to increase the visibility of black and black mixed heritage females within architectural industry and other built environment fields. In so doing, BFA actively addresses issues of inequality and diversity within the industry
Beyond the Built Environment — The role of architects in community life has been rendered largely irrelevant as the profession has historically been, and continues to be, an exclusive resource serving primarily wealthy patrons. Such exclusivity fosters and perpetuates great inequity in the built environment – inequities which more adversely affect communities of color. In 1968, activist Whitney Young sharply rebuked the profession by stating “You are not a profession that has distinguished itself by your social and civic contributions to the cause of civil rights… You are most distinguished by your thunderous silence and your complete irrelevance”. My belief is that strong and healthy communities, rich in diversity make strong nations. As architects, we have the power to represent more than ourselves and representation is quintessential to achieving equitable diversity.