What does it mean to be black in design? Does its complexity warrant a conference? If good design connects us all intrinsically, how can race transform itself into yet another barrier and place us in these seats (also designed)? And was my grandmother a designer? We’re at Harvard–yet she looks like the women in this room. Walking long and curiously to sustain a place for standing. They have made their life’s work about finding the solutions–then their struggles are groomed into a neat package, placed on their laps, and labeled design.
It’s 2017 and I’m still learning how to get comfortable with knowing less than what I think I know. I struggled to design my first poster in high school using Microsoft Word. And the truth is, those were the days. Attending the conference Black in Design prompted me to encounter the world with the curiosity and tenacity of my younger self–dragging my fingers down the spines of books titled with foreign names and even more foreign concepts. But were any of those people or ideas black? Could they have been?
Landscape architects, fine artists, design professors, politicians, social workers, students, and activists filled the auditorium waiting to hear something they could hold on to about how to connect with the greater world and still be themselves. Many people, and many outside of being black, were trying to understand how to better appreciate the work we’ve dedicated our lives to practicing, when so often it leaves us in the margins….
My favorite presentation was by a woman named Ingrid LaFleur who ran for Mayor of Detroit in 2016 on the platform of Afrofuturism. Her campaign operated from a mayoral plan of action which incorporated feedback from the community through the vehicle of “co-creation workshops.” A designer by trade, LaFleur used politics as a tool to design for the future of Detroit. Afrofuturism is often expressed in comics or novels. LaFleur’s approach was powerful because it actualized Afrofuturism in a unique, tangible way.
My second favorite moment of the conference was hearing a sophomore student majoring in industrial design stand up and ask a question to the keynote speakers on stage. He prefaced his inquiry by stating many of the struggles I personally faced as a designer in a predominantly white institution and class: lack of representation & accessibility, or understanding from professors, etc. But his question – “How do I make my work matter to people who look like me?” – made me think about the power I have to influence the generation behind me by being a more risk-taking, informed, and involved designer.
I approached him after the conference and told him I truly identified with his question. I told him to stick with design because the road will get easier and the learning will be more fulfilling. He seemed grateful that I understood what he meant. If that is the only thing I will remember looking back on the conference, then it will be enough!
