The Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) has dedicated its efforts towards architectural education and research by "empowering faculty and schools to educate increasingly diverse students, expand disciplinary impacts, and create knowledge for the advancement of architecture."

2020 sparked a resurgence in the importance of addressing the social and political injustices within architectural academia and professional practice. Last year, ACSA Director of Research and Information, Dr. Kendall A. Nicholson, Assoc. AIA, NOMA posed a pertinent question that has turned into an impactful research series. By examining architecture's history and its ties to race both in the past and the present, we can begin to understand steps towards sustained reform and social equity for architects who identify as Black, Hispanic, Latinx, Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander, and Native Indigenous. 

Where Are My People? is a research series that investigates how architecture interacts with race and how the nation’s often ignored systems and histories perpetuate the problem of racial inequity. Nicholson unpacks the questions of "where" and "why" to better understand the systemic issues of racism and displacement within architecture communities. In addition to data and collected text, Nicholson also called to the community for their personal experiences with racial inequity to help supplement his research.

In the first installment, Where Are My People? Black In Architecture, Nicholson explains, "In the wake of the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor, many have turned their attention to the underpinning of race across various realms of society. [...] Why is it that Black people are less likely to choose architecture than other service professions like medicine or education? Why is it that many architecture departments have no Black faculty members? Why is it that architecture schools have difficulty attracting and retaining Black students? To start, let’s consider the historical context."

Following his initial report are Where are My People? - Hispanic and Latinx in Architecture, Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander in Architecture, and the most recently released Native and Indigenous in Architecture report.

A detailed and highly illuminating resource for all, reading through Nicholson's reports makes it very clear his commitment to giving marginalized communities a platform to share their voices by combining detailed research and data. In his initial report, he makes a note stating the ACSA is "continuing its efforts to learn, listen, and ask questions regarding architecture and race." Complete with charts, graphs, and other data visualization aides, Nicholson starts each research investigation by asking questions that correlate to each community and their long-standing social, political, and historical relationships within architecture. He then ends each report with survey responses from individuals who identify as Black, Hispanic, Latinx, Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander, and Native Indigenous.

Through his research initiatives and the contributions of others, we as an architecture and design community must hold ourselves accountable for learning and improving the spaces we work, teach, and live in to improve equity within practice. According to Nicholson, "asking the question 'why' is imperative."

To learn more about this series and other research conducted by the ACSA visit their ACSA’s Data + Research Page.