Black History, 365!
With the events that occurred in 2020, I knew Black History Month 2021 would be one to remember. And, although I celebrate my blackness every day of the year, during this time of the year I recognize BHM by educating others on how overlooked Black architects have been in this country for far too long. When I decided to pursue architecture in high school I did not have many Black architects as role models. The only two Black architects I knew personally were two friends of the family. Fast forward to college, there was maybe one Black professor in the School of Architecture and zero textbooks on Black architects offered.
I did not understand how low the number of Black architects in the United States was until my 5th year of architecture school. I was in the middle of an interview during our Career Day at North Carolina State University when a Black architect sitting across from me asked me this question: do you know how many Black female architects are practicing in the nation? I looked puzzled and answered no. He responded with, 0.2%. My face scrunched up even more as he explained that less than 1 percent of architects in the nation are Black women. At that moment I felt like I was being released into the world to navigate the architectural profession and to be a driving force to push the needle forward for Black women in architecture.
For Black History Month 2020, I shared Instagram stories every day showcasing buildings by Black architects in the Los Angeles area. My followers were exposed to names of Black architects, many for the first time. The content I created involved me traveling to each building and recording a short video of the building from my perspective. At the end of the project, I was proud of the collection of videos but also recalled how much time and mileage was involved. This year had to be different not only because of the limited access to buildings because of the pandemic but also because I wanted the time spent working on this project doing something I loved.
My imperfectly, perfect vision board for 2021.
My vision board this year included a desire to paint more. I started painting in high school and although I have always been so critical of myself, the final results are always rewarding. I thought painting a tribute to Paul R. Williams while sharing facts about other Black architects was an ingenious idea. I first learned about Paul R. Williams after working on a project that renovates one of his original buildings on UCLA’s campus. Though Paul R. Williams is one of the most well-known Black architects in America, most of my friends have never heard of him...my guess would be that they have heard of the Beverly Hills Hotel. In order to draw people in early, I thought why not let the inspiration for the painting be about Paul R. Williams and his most popular project, the Beverly Hills Hotel. In the 1940s, Paul R. Williams was responsible for alterations and additions to the hotel as well as the iconic banana leaf motif found throughout the interiors.
Paul R. Williams, AIA. Drawing by Charles Henry Alston, 1907-1977 (Wikimedia Commons).
To my surprise, my Black History Month project was well-recognized and celebrated among my social media following. If you have not had a chance to view the BHM video series please check out IGTV on my Instagram (@rachelthearchitect). I posted a total of 26 videos about Black architects in history and the series garnered over 13K views. My videos were reposted by pages like AIA National (on Instagram) and almost every day someone was telling me how much they looked forward to the next video or the final painting. I also polled followers if they knew the Black architects from the videos and I received a consistent response of less than 15% knew the architect. This project reinforced my belief that architectural education does not teach us about Black architects. It was not until I was at the early stages of my career that I learned the names Paul R. Williams, Norma Sklarek, Georgia Louise Brown, etc
Pictured a portrait of Paul Williams seated at the Fountain Coffee Room. Image source: http://veryfamousmagazine.com/glamorous-history-paul-r-williams/
It is my goal for the painting to be auctioned for sale in order to raise funds for books on Black architects that can be donated to architecture students. I relied on a great book, African American Architects A Biographical Dictionary, 1865-1945 by Dreck Spurlock Wilson for this project and believe that while students learn about the Gehrys, Wrights, and Kahns in school that they should also learn about the Williams, Greenes, Abeles, and all the Black architects that impact the built environment.
At the start of this project I did not have the finish line in mind, I just knew I had an opportunity to share the history of Black architects with anyone who would listen. Now I hold myself accountable to find a public space for the painting. A space that will constantly remind others that Black stories should be celebrated 365.
If you are an owner of a gallery or know someone who owns a gallery please send me a message. To purchase a personal print please visit: http://rachelthearchitect.imagekind.com/
Thank you for following the journey of this project!