A number of other librarians have published their own research guides on the subjects covered here and others that are related. This guide benefits from their work, but does not include all of what can be found elsewhere. Among them are:
CCNY Architecture Library Research Guide: Architecture: Race & the Built Environment
Columbia University Avery Library Research Guide: Race and the Built Environment - Architecture
Syracuse University LibGuide on Black and African American Architects
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture at New York Public Library's #SchomburgSyllabus - "The #SchomburgSyllabus is an archive of new and recent educational resources relating to Black studies, movements, and experiences. By connecting these materials to the Schomburg Center’s collections, we honor and recognize the source and strength of Black self-education practices, collective study, and librarianship. The #SchomburgSyllabus is curated by Schomburg Center staff and organized into 27 themes to foster a greater understanding of the Black experience."
The Architectural League's Statement and Resources on Race and Architecture - In the wake of "the murders of Tony McDade, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and so many others," this list of "resources for reading and viewing on race and architecture [has been] compiled by Mario Gooden, with Mabel O. Wilson and the Architectural League staff."
Anti-racism Design Resources - "This document is intended to uplift Black design communities, serve as a resource for communities in need of pro bono design services, and serve as a resource to non-Black and white people to deepen our anti-racism work within design disciplines." It is maintained by Design As Protest Collective.
Thomas J. Watson Library at the Metropolitan Museum of Art: Index of African American Artists - "The Index of African American Artists (IAAA) is a research aid for identifying publications in Watsonline, the online catalog of the Metropolitan Museum of Art libraries, by and about artists of African descent who have lived, worked, or studied in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Inclusion in the index indicates that an artist's name appears in one or more Watsonline records: the extent to which each artist is represented ranges from a single entry in an encyclopedia or biographical dictionary, to more than one hundred titles. Please note that this index is still in development and is not a comprehensive list of all African American artists represented in the Met libraries..."
Shifting the Landscape: Black Architects and Planners, 1968 to Now
"From September 27 - 29, 2018, the [Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture] presented Shifting the Landscape: Black Architects and Planners, 1968 to Now, a symposium focused on the activism, engagement, and impact of black architects and planners over the past fifty years." The accompanying website includes the conference program as well as a list of resources including videos ("video resources compiled by Pascale Sablan, Historian for the National Organization of Minority Architects."), books, organizations, and more.
(above) VIDEO: Archives Have the Power to Boost Marginalized Voices by Dominique Luster (TEDxPittsburgh; June 29, 2018; 8 min)
"Archivists have an important job — a job that has the ability to save or erase an individual's history or even the history of an entire people. Dominique Luster works to build a historical view that includes marginalized voices and conscious language. In this talk, she shares lessons of this as put in motion with her work archiving the iconic photography of Charles "Teenie" Harris."
"The Smithsonian has launched its Open Access Initiative. Images of objects from the NMAAHC collection are now available to view, download, and share through a CC0 license."
The Archives of African American Architects Digital Collection at Howard University
"The Archives of African American Architects Digital Collection will highlight the work of prominent African Americans in the field of architecture. By making their architectural drawings and prints available they will add to the scholarship and research efforts of those interested in the contributions of African American architects." Currently, the collection holds digitized drawings from projects by Albert Cassell, Hilyard Robinson, and Robert Nash.
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division
"The Photographs and Prints Division contains both documentary and fine art photographs, which document the history and culture of people of African descent worldwide as well as the work of photographers of African descent. The collection of over 300,000 images ranges from mid-eighteenth century graphics to contemporary documentary and art photography; all of the major photographic processes are represented."
Preserving Activism: Beyond and Between Pratt's Gates
"Through a combination of interdisciplinary coursework, independent research, and oral histories we have begun examining historical movements for social change that brought Pratt [Institute] affiliates together with local community residents, documenting the history of social activism within and outside the school." Among the materials gathered for this project are several "oral history summaries of student activists who attended Pratt during the 1960s and early 1970s... as part of an effort to address gaps in the historical record as it is represented by Pratt’s archives." This includes Rudy Bryant who "worked at the Pratt Center [for Community Development for 40 years, from 1967–2007. He served as the Assistant Director from the early 1970s until he retired in 2007."
"Founded in 1963, Pratt Center is the oldest university-based community planning organization in the U.S. As part of Pratt Institute, we leverage professional skills in urban planning, architecture, design and public policy to work on the ground with community-based organizations to challenge systemic inequities and advance sustainable development." More about the organization and the Libraries' holdings can be found in this finding aid. The Pratt Center is still an active organization.
Johnson Publishing Company: Ebony and Jet Archives
The online archives of Ebony and Jet Magazines, published by the Johnson Publishing Company, are searchable and contain articles on prominent Black American architects of their time.
UCLA Library Center for Oral History: African American Architects of Los Angeles series
"The interviews in the series African American Architects of Los Angeles document the work of selected African American architects who have enhanced the built environment, principally in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Influenced by earlier pioneers such as Paul R. Williams, these individuals overcame bias and discrimination to create structures which have become emblematic of the uniqueness of local architecture." Interviewees in this series are: Lester O. Bankhead, Robert A. Kennard, Norma Merrick Sklarek, John D. Williams, and Harold L. Williams.
National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA)
NOMA, which thrives only when voluntary members contribute their time and resources, has as its mission the building of a strong national organization, strong chapters and strong members for the purpose of minimizing the effect of racism in our profession.
"Our collective brings together planners, architects, artists, and designers as Black urbanists, people who are passionate about the work of public systems and urban infrastructures."
Alicia Olushola Ajayi is an architectural designer, researcher, and writer based in NYC. After receiving a dual masters in architecture and social work from Washington University in St. Louis, Alicia worked as an associate designer at MASS Design Group. There, she was a member of the design team for the ground-breaking Memorial to Peace and Justice in Montgomery, AL, a site dedicated to the racial terror and lynching throughout U.S. history. Currently, she is the project manager at BlackSpace Urbanist Collective, a group of design professionals dedicated to protecting and amplifying Black spaces and Black futures.
"Black Gotham Experience is an immersive multimedia project that celebrates the impact of the African Diaspora on New York City. Black Gotham is a real and imagined place, an expansive public experience that includes interactive walking tours through Manhattan’s Financial District, a developing series of photography-based graphic novels, and a web series, weaving together art, research, fashion and entertainment. The heart of this experience are five stories that revisit Manhattan in 1625 and move forward through the next three centuries: Other Side of Wall Street, Sarah’s Fire, Caesar’s Rebellion, Citizen Hope, and State of Mirrors."
Black in Historic Preservation
"A community, platform, and resource by and for Black Preservationists + Heritage Conservationists... Black in Historic Preservation is a program of wrkSHäp | kiloWatt, a design studio that specializes in historic preservation + owner's representation, founded by architect k. kennedy Whiters, AIA."
Black Landscape Architects Network
"The mission of the Black Landscape Architects Network is to increase the visibility, support the interests, and foster the impact of Black practitioners in landscape architecture."
"...Dark Matter U is founded to work inside and outside of existing systems to challenge, inform, and reshape our present world toward a better future." This democratic network comprises individuals from across North America that publish and host events that strive for collective liberation.
"Design as Protest is a collective of designers mobilizing strategy to dismantle the privilege and power structures that use architecture and design as tools of oppression.
Co-organized by BIPOC designers, we exist to hold our profession accountable in reversing the violence and injustice that architecture, design, and urban planning practices have inflicted upon Black people and communities. Design as Protest champions the radical vision of racial, social, and cultural reparation through the process and outcomes of design."
Wa Na Wari (Seattle, Washington)
" Sited in a fifth-generation, Black-owned home, Wa Na Wari is an immersive community art project that reclaims Black cultural space and makes a statement about the importance of Black land ownership in gentrified communities. Our mission is to create space for Black ownership, possibility, and belonging through art, historic preservation, and connection."
"WAI Architecture Think Tank is a planetary studio practicing by questioning the political, historical, and material legacy and imperatives of architecture and urbanism through a panoramic and critical approach." Works of note include "UN-MAKING ARCHITECTURE: An Anti-Racist Architecture Manifesto" and the downloadable "A Manual of Anti-Racist Architecture Education" among many others.
Weeksville Heritage Center (Brooklyn, New York)
"Weeksville Heritage Center is an historic site and cultural center in Central Brooklyn that uses education, arts and a social justice lens to preserve, document and inspire engagement with the history of Weeksville, one of the largest free Black communities in pre-Civil War America, and the Historic Hunterfly Road Houses."
"The Design Nexus is a platform that promotes Black designers who have made and are making an indelible contribution to our society and to how we see the world around us...
The Design Nexus emerged from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design’s inaugural Black in Design Conference where Dana McKinney, the President of the GSD’s African American Student Union and other students discussed ways of connecting and representing black designers. Dana created a list of over 2,000 African and African American designers that is a growing volume of work the Design Nexus is using to populate its content. When Phil Freelon and Mohsen Mostafavi discussed the potential for housing this project at the GSD, the idea of the African American Design Nexus was born.
The African American Design Nexus was developed by the Frances Loeb Library in collaboration with the GSD’s African American Student Union."
Architecture Is Political (podcast)
"My name is Melissa Daniel and I started this podcast to rediscover why I went into architecture. I am investigating where I lived and talk to the people who can assist me in this journey. In depth, this investigation will examine Tyler House and the Northwest One area in Washington, DC. as well interviews with various architectural professionals, planners and experts."
One Brick at a Time: Robert R. Taylor’s Architectural Vision for Tuskegee Institute by the National Park Service
"This lesson plan, “One Brick at a Time: Robert R. Taylor’s architectural vision for Tuskegee Institute” focuses on the architectural impact of Robert R Taylor on the Tuskegee Institute, which now a National Historic Site. This lesson plan was created by the Tuskegee Institute NHS Greening Youth Intern Fatimah S. Purvis. Revision assistance was provided in 2022 by Sarah (Nestor) Lane, an educator currently located in Washington state. This lesson is one in a series [National Park Service’s Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP)] that brings the important stories of historic places into classrooms across the country."
"BlackPast is dedicated to providing reliable information on the history of Black people across the globe, and especially in North America. Our goal is to promote greater understanding of our common human experience through knowledge of the diversity of the Black experience and the ubiquity of the global Black presence."
Now What?! Advocacy, Activism & Alliances in American Architecture since 1968
"Now What?! is the first exhibition to examine the little-known history of architects and designers working to further the causes of the civil rights, women’s, and LGBTQ movements of the past fifty years. The exhibition content, conversations, and stories will inspire a new generation of design professionals to see themselves as agents of change by looking at the past to see new ways forward." This was a travelling exhibition, but also has an robust online presence. Washington was one of its curators.