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National Organization of Minority Architects Selected as 2007 Recipient of the Whitney M. Young Jr. Award
Organization committed to students of color in Architecture
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For Immediate Release |
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Washington, D.C., December 18,
2006 — The American Institute of Architects (AIA) announced today the
National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) has been named
the 2007 recipient of the Whitney M. Young Jr. Award, given to an
architect or architecturally oriented organization exemplifying the
profession’s responsibility toward current social
issues.
The award honors civil rights leader Whitney M. Young Jr.,
proponent of social change and head of the Urban League from 1961
until his death in 1971. At the 1968 AIA Annual Convention, Young
challenged architects to more actively increase participation in
the profession by minorities and women. NOMA becomes the 36th
recipient of the Whitney M. Young Jr. Award, which was established
by the AIA in 1972. NOMA will receive the 2007 Whitney M. Young Jr.
Award at the AIA 2007 Annual Convention in San Antonio in
May.
NOMA’s nomination was submitted by the Boston Society of
Architects and supported by six previous Whitney M. Young Jr. Award
recipients. In her letter of nomination, Jane Weinzapfel, FAIA,
partner of the 2007 AIA Firm Award recipient Leers Weinzapfel,
writes, “Although we have repeatedly acknowledged the relative
homogeneity of our profession and our commitment to diversify it,
we have failed to [increase significantly the number of
African-American architects].” Thirty-eight years after
Young’s call for action and 35 years after its creation, NOMA
was selected for its unfailing dedication to promoting the
architecture profession with the goal of increasing diversity among
practitioners.
NOMA was formed to address the existence and impact of racism
during the late 1960s and ‘70s and acknowledge how
socio-economic conditions negatively influence the built
environment of poor and oppressed Americans. In 1971, at the AIA
national convention, 12 African-American architects formed NOMA to
voice dissatisfaction with the status quo and begin the task of
equalizing the opportunities and design practices of black
architects. Thirty-five years later, NOMA remains the preeminent
voice for minority architects.
“NOMA has given greater visibility to African-American
architects, provided ‘role-models’ for students, and
informed the general public,” says J. Max Bond, FAIA, in his
letter of support for NOMA.
The NOMA Conference provides students the opportunity to interact
with professional architects for portfolio review, advice,
internships, and career guidance. Conference seminars offer interns
insight on the Architecture Registration Exam, Intern Development
Program, portfolio development, interview skills, and resume
writing. NOMA also has held a regional ARE preparation program for
interns.
Additionally, NOMA has begun to make inroads in primary education
to make minority youth, and their parents, aware of architecture as
a career choice. NOMA has financially supported organizations like
Chicago-based ADventure Program, which introduces minority
disadvantaged students to architecture and the built environment.
NOMA also partnered with the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to support their National
Afro-Academic Cultural Technological and Scientific Olympics
(ACT-SO) Competition for high school students interested in
architecture.
“Architectural students of color gravitate to NOMA because of
its sensitivity to their needs,” says Leon Bridges, FAIA,
FNOMA, in his letter of support. “NOMA’s membership is
small, but its striving for excellence for minority architects
continues to increase in its intensity. NOMA’s mere presence
provides hope to hundreds of graduating minority architects for
their inclusion in an otherwise, still, white-dominated
profession.”
About The American Institute of
Architects
For almost 150 years, members of The American Institute of
Architects have worked with each other and their communities to
create more valuable, healthy, secure, and sustainable buildings
and cityscapes. AIA members have access to the right people,
knowledge, and tools to create better design, and through such
resources and access, they help clients and communities make their
visions real. www.aia.org
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