Announcing the launch of “Building a Foundation for Action: Anti-Racist Historic Preservation Resources,” an open-access, collaborative resource list for preservationists seeking to acknowledge the field’s structural racism and to take actions toward decentering Whiteness.
This document is a work-in-progress to collectively compile resources to further anti-racism efforts in the field of historic preservation. This list is intended to support and engage the preservation field writ large, but educators and students are envisioned as critical users and collaborators. For those who have the interest, time, and ability, we encourage you to contribute. Information on how to submit resources to the list can be found in the “Contributions” section through the link above. We also encourage you to share widely with your colleagues and networks. We will continue to accept additions to and comments on the list into summer 2021, at which point we will evaluate how best to further this work.
This resource list is conceived and managed as part of the Urban Heritage, Sustainability, and Social Inclusion Initiative, a collaboration of the Columbia GSAPP Historic Preservation Program, the Earth Institute – Center for Sustainable Urban Development, and The American Assembly, with support from the New York Community Trust. The need for deep, structural shifts in preservation policy to confront exclusion and the challenges of climate change was the impetus behind the establishment of the Initiative, and this resource list is envisioned as a critical tool in that endeavor.
Erica Avrami
James Marston Fitch Assistant Professor of Historic Preservation | Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation
Research Affiliate | Earth Institute – Center for Sustainable Urban Development
Columbia University, New York, NY USA
