In recent days, the team at Architizer has been rocked in a way that we know many of you will have been as well. The senseless murder of George Floyd and many others has sparked enormous grief and justifiable anger across the country, forcing us to reckon with our actions (and inaction) as individuals, as a company and as a society.
While the issue of police brutality might seem removed from the realm of architecture and design, let us be clear — racial injustice, discrimination and inequality touches every part of our lives, and industries such as ours are not immune. In fact, architecture often frames these fundamental issues, and can be viewed as a physical manifestation of a society’s social, political and economic values.
Therefore, as a global platform for architects and designers of all races, genders, religions and geographies, we have a duty to highlight our position. We condemn racism in all its forms and seek to act in support of all Black Americans — especially the Black architects, engineers, contractors, photographers, manufacturers and students who help make our industry the innovative, inspiring space that it is.
We pledge to work hard to ensure their concerns are raised, their voices are heard and their hard work is recognized. While the national spotlight has been thrown on racial injustice this week, we recognize that a sustained and ongoing effort is required to help produce real, authentic change, both in the AEC industry and beyond.
We do not have all the answers, but we are striving to find them. We will be working on more in-depth content related to the work of Black designers, as well as promoting workplace equality and calling out discrimination in all its forms. Please watch for these upcoming articles, but in the meantime, we invite you to read and support the work of the following organizations:
- National Organization of Minority Architects
- National Urban League
- The Directory of African American Architects
- National Organization of Minority Architecture Students (a division of NOMA)
- Black in Design: http://www.blackindesign.org/
- Organization of Black Designers: http://www.obd.org/
- National Society of Black Engineers
- Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture – Diversity Resources
- Black Space
- The Black Urbanist
- Equity by Design
- Architecture Lobby
If you have an additional organization you would like to see added to this list of resources, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at editorial@architizer.com.