American architect Tiara Hughes has launched the First 500 website, an online platform dedicated to showcasing the work of Black women architects working in the US.
Hughes founded the First 500 organisation in 2018 after learning that less than 500 of the 100,000 licensed architects in the US were Black women.
In October, the architect launched a website to further the initiative's mission in achieving racial justice in the architecture industry.
"First 500 aims to inspire Black women and girls to infinitely increase our licensed representation in the industry to better reflect the environments we serve," Hughes told Dezeen.
"The website is a resource and reference to learn more about the incredible contributions of black women to the built environment." "We must tackle this disparity as an industry together if we want to see transformative change"
According to Hughes, systemic barriers such as lack of access, support and resources are some of the biggest factors preventing Black female architects from furthering their careers.
In light of this, the First 500 website has a library that consists of books written by Black writers or featuring Black architects. It forms part of the initiative's goal to reinsert some of the contributions of Black architects into the historical narrative ? something that is often overlooked in education.
"Our platforms emphasize that this dilemma needs to be supported on all fronts from all parties," Hughe...