Throughout the course of the summer, six Morgan State University architecture students will participate in a new pilot program as part of an initiative to encourage more young African-Americans to enter the architectural and historical preservation field.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Hands-on Preservation Experience (HOPE) crew partnered with Morgan State, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation and the National Park Service’s Western Center for Historic Preservation to create the project, “Touching History: Preservation in Practice.”
According to the National Architectural Accrediting Board, only 2 percent of the number of registered architects are African-American. Additionally, only 0.3 percent of licensed architects are African-American women.
The lack of representation within the design field has been an ongoing conversation, according to Monica Rhodes, associate director of the National Trust’s HOPE crew. For example, in late September, the National Museum of African American History and Culture is hosting a symposium titled, “Shifting the Landscape: Black Architects and Planners, 1968 to Now.”
The HOPE crew was searching for students who were affluent in architecture and its theories. Morgan State recommended Akiel Allen, Tiffany Dockins, Nathaniel Mitchell, Jamil Nelson, Taylor Proctor and Monique Robinson for the project.
“Preservation and having students be a part of the program just really anchored them closer to their field,” said Monica Rhodes, associate director for the HOPE crew. “It’s one thing for a student to sit in a classroom and learn something, and it’s totally something completely different when you go out into the field and are actually able to test that model and see if it works on the ground. These students have been able to do that throughout the summer.”
