The Longevity & Legacy of the 'Vanilla Architect': How a Monoculture Yields Cycles of Unconscious Bias, Tokenism, and System Justification

2024-08-20T15:18:00-04:00

This Op-Ed explores how unconscious bias of mentors, tokenism, and resultant patterns of system justification reinforce a status quo that marginalizes women and people of color. These complex and long-lived dynamics are unpacked through personal anecdotes, historical analysis, and contemporary research. By examining repeating organizational behaviors, we can better discuss the barriers that women and people of color face within the industry. I hope that the anecdotes act as a lens to another perspective to those without these experiences and give voice to those with similar.

Thoughts on Black Tokenism in Architectural Practice

2020-10-22T11:48:00-04:00

I’ve been thinking a lot about the recent outcry for social and racial justice. As a Black man, I’ve lived my own experience in this country — one filled with many blessings, but also many challenges. I want to reflect on some of those challenges, and explore some of the subtleties of being Black in a predominantly white setting — architecture. I don’t have the answers, but I do believe there is a power in story and truth to be found in narrative. This is a story, a picture into a narrative common to many in the profession, followed by some reflections. But at the same time, we know, every person has their own story to tell.

Archinect - Features

The Longevity & Legacy of the 'Vanilla Architect': How a Monoculture Yields Cycles of Unconscious Bias, Tokenism, and System Justification

Thoughts on Black Tokenism in Architectural Practice