Two panels discuss their vision for "Reimagining Black Futures"

In celebration of Black History Month, the UB School of Architecture and Planning hosted Reimagining Black Futures, a pair of panel discussions held on two consecutive Wednesdays in February. Through this series, the School convened two groups of local changemakers, the first comprised of individuals in active pursuit of the revitalization of Buffalo’s East Side, and the second was a group of successful Black architects and urban planners speaking on their personal experience working in the field. “It’s really important that we’re doing this event,” Dean Czerniak shared while welcoming the attendees. “These are conversations that we should be having more and more, and certainly not just in the month of February.”

Part I featured each panelist speaking individually about their work followed by a Q&A session for the full group. It opened with a powerful look at the origins of Black History Month by Dr. Henry-Louis Taylor, Jr., professor at the School of Architecture, founding director of the UB Center for Urban Studies, and associate director of the UB Community Equity Research Institute. Reflecting on the theme, Dr. Taylor urged those in attendance to be aware of the systemic and structural forces that keep Black neighborhoods from flourishing and concluded with a call to action: “Reimagining Black futures calls on us to envision a world where all Black people live in healthy, thriving, and joyful community while reaffirming our commitment to transforming that vision into a reality.”

Additional Part I speakers included: Albert Chao, adjunct instructor in the Department of Architecture; Jin Young Song, AIA, associate professor in the Department of Architecture and founder of DIOINNO Architecture PLLC; and Christina P. Orsi, president of the John R. Oishei Foundation.

Dr. Taylor explained, “Our theoretical model indicated that Black neighborhood underdevelopment was the direct consequence of the metropolitan city-building process and the for-profit housing market with a racist housing valuation system…mechanisms such as high rents, exclusionary zoning, discriminatory lending practices, restrictive housing development, and limited transportation options trap Blacks in these underdeveloped neighborhoods, turning their communities, with limited consumer options, into sites of wealth extraction and dispossession.” Their solution is grounded in change that comes from within – solidarity and inclusivity, communal ownership of land, property, and housing, and training to give residents the skills to participate in the rebuilding of their own communities. The East Side Transformation Project plans to test their approach on one East Side neighborhood before expanding to the others and then beyond. 

The full panel then participated in a moderated Q&A session, addressing questions of how they navigate their projects to challenge the dominant racist and capitalist paradigms, the effect of new federal policies on the Oishei Foundation’s new strategic focus, thoughts on potential restoration of the Humboldt Parkway, strategies for collective ownership, and the influence of memorials on underserved communities.

Part II featured an open, candid, and engrossing conversation among the panel members that intentionally shifted away from the usual discourse centered on “overcoming challenges on your rise to success” to instead focus on the systems of oppression that continue to affect panelists’ ability to utilize their skills to achieve transformative community change. The panel included: Crystal Middleton, director of planning & zoning for the Buffalo Mayor’s Office of Strategic Planning; Dale White, managing director of acquisitions for BDP Impact Real Estate; Rishawn Sonubi, partner at Young + Wright Architectural; and Arthur Hall, president of Hallmark Planning & Development. Dr. Henry-Louis Taylor, Jr. returned to serve as moderator. 

The discussion opened with a question posed by Dr. Taylor: “What challenges, if any, have you faced in attempting to initiate projects that are aimed at transforming or changing the Black community?” The panel agreed that being aware and conscious of the root cause of a community’s issues is imperative. Hall began by quoting Dr. Taylor on the topic, “You deal with the trauma of the historical roots of the urban crisis.” He then added, “You have promises that have been made and not kept, and that has resulted in infrastructure issues, housing vacancies, and everything that you can imagine that would absolutely destroy a neighborhood…and so you have decades of trauma, and that trauma has resulted in anger and distrust.” Citing his experience on an East Side project, he stated, “Before we could communicate any design concepts…the first thing we had to do was be very skilled urban planning psychologists.” 

A host of other challenges were offered by the panel, each a barrier to achieving growth in Black communities. White mentioned preconceived notions about those communities hindering the ability to secure financing for projects through traditional channels. “Magic Johnson was told that Black people don’t drink coffee, right?...so he built a community Starbucks on 125^th and Lenox, and it was one of the most successful Starbucks in the country. But if you’re going to present that to an investment bank, you’re not going to get the money…so you have to be creative.” Additional challenges posed included silos that keep community partners from working together (therefore, working against each other), a subsidized financing structure that’s not actually built to address community needs, and initial project success subsequently leading to neighborhood gentrification. 

Returning to the subject of trust, Dr. Taylor asked the panel how it can be built with members of the community. The key that kept coming up throughout the discussion is authentic and intentional community engagement. Before crafting solutions, designers and planners need to truly understand the trauma that exists in those communities, what their challenges are, what residents’ vision for their neighborhood looks like, and what kind of education can be provided to clear up any misinformation, put your project into context, and ease any skepticism about your intentions.

“It’s really about the quality time that you’re spending with the community,” Sonubi explained. “We want people to be ‘annoyed’ by the fact that they’re going to another meeting talking about the client-led design. It’s not our design, it’s the client-led design. It’s not about what we need or what we’re producing. It’s about how we are fulfilling your needs.” Middleton agreed about consistency. “Building trust is a cycle,” she said. “It’s iterative. You cannot have one conversation and then wait a few months. You have to make sure you’re constantly communicating in between those time periods too.”

Authenticity is crucial, and it can really shine through when you meet the people where they are – in barber shops, in coffee shops, and even through more formal community discussions. And you need to listen. White suggested, “To bridge the gap, you have to relate to people, but not in a phony way, you have to do it in a real way…stay there until they believe you and let them know that you are part of their community, part of their diaspora, and there for them.” And how do you know you’re making progress? “You know you’re in a good position when the block club president invites you to the barbeque and when you get there, they make you a plate,” Hall observed.

The group also discussed the tricky issue of how to deal with being perceived and treated as an outside interest even if you identify with the community you’re trying to help. Middleton reflected, “It is certainly challenging to deal with a lot of the emotions that come along with working in the government, especially when you have roots and similar goals to the people that you’re serving. We’ve been talking about these walls and these barriers, and you go in and you’re like ‘hey, I want to help you, I’ve got your back,’ and a lot of times it’s not received just because of the entity that I work with…it’s about misunderstandings. There’s an education gap, and you have to get over that hump…I realize that it’s not about me and I’m making a deeper impact.”

The panel members agreed on the importance of not taking it personally, staying true to your values, and forging ahead with your work with family, faith, and colleagues there for support. “If you’re there for the right reasons,” White observed, “and you’re willing to stay there, put in the work, continue to communicate with people, let them know exactly what you’re trying to do, and be fully transparent – if it’s the right thing, it’ll be accepted.”

Thanks to DaMante’ Curry (MSRED '26), Professors Henry Taylor and Emmanuel Frimpong Boamah, and student group AASAP for their coordination of this event.