This February, we celebrate Black History Month and the contributions Black people have made in the field of architecture through design, education, and the planning of communities across the United States and beyond.
Below you will find a list of resources, literature, and trailblazing figures that highlight Black people in architecture including pioneering accomplishments of Black architects and the fight for equality.
Resources:
The Directory of African American Architects
The National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA)
Books:
African American Architects: A Biographical Dictionary, 1865-1945, by Dreck Spurlock Wilson
Black Built: History and Architecture in the Black Community, by Paul A Wellington
The Black Skyscraper: Architecture and the Perception of Race, by Adrienne Brown
African American Architects: Embracing Culture and Building Urban Communities, by Melvin L. Mitchell
Race and Real Estate, by Adrienne Brown and Valerie Smith
Race and Modern Architecture: A Critical History from the Enlightenment to the Present, by Irene Cheng, Charles L. Davis II, Mabel O. Wilson
Source: AIA Central Valley
Historical Figures:
Image 1 – Top Row: Moses McKissack III (1879–1952), Georgia Louise Harris Brown (1918–1999), Paul Revere Williams (1894–1980), Elizabeth Carter Brooks (1867–1951)
Image 1 – Bottom Row: Beverly Loraine Greene (1915–1957), Vertner Woodson Tandy (1885–1949), Martha Ann Cassell Thompson (1925–1968), Hilyard Robinson (1899–1986)
Image 2 – Paul Revere Williams (center) consults with Edgar J. Johnson, Norman O. Houston, and George A. Beavers, Jr.
