Only 502 are Black Women

Source: architectsfoundation.networkforgood.com

Only 502 are Black Women

by SweisKloss
February 4, 2020

Out of 116,000 architects in the United States, only 502 are Black women. What a staggering statistic. That is only 0.4%. And this number is up ten times from where it was 30 years ago, which one could say is certainly progress. But is slow progress enough progress? What type of representation would there be now if it had not been for the likes of Beverly Loraine Greene, America’s first licensed (1942) Black female architect or Norma Merrick Sklarek who became the first Black female member of the AIA in 1959. Then there was the pioneering Leatrice Buchanan McKissack, the first female owner of a Black-owned construction company in the U.S. Her one daughter would go on to take over the business and the other daughter would start another construction company. Today, there are Black women like Pascale Sablan making an impact. She is not only an award-winning architect, but she is the Founder and Executive Director of Beyond the Built Environment, “positioned to uniquely address the inequitable disparities in architecture by providing a holistic platform aimed to support numerous stages of the architecture pipeline.” She was named National Organization of Minority Architects’ member of the year and will be the newest president for 2021. So how do we continue to forge forward and make equitable diversity the norm rather than the exception? For starters, supporting worthy causes will help. We received an email from one of our vendors, Fireclay Tile, letting us know that they are partnering with the Architect’s Foundation to sponsor a Diversity Advancement Scholarship specifically for Black women pursuing architecture in honor of Desiree Cooper, a DC-area architect who tragically passed in 2015. Fireclay asked us to help spread the word, and we were happy to do so. As an added incentive, Fireclay Tile is matching donations up to $5K through 3/1/21. To learn more about this fundraiser, click here.