Reimagining Black Futures: UB Events Explore Black Histories and Voices

For anyone wondering why the School of Architecture and Planning hosted this discussion—rather than the departments of history, political science, or the humanities—Dr. Henry-Louis Taylor, Jr., professor in UB’s Department of Urban and Regional Planning and director of the Center for Urban Studies, shared an anecdote from earlier that week. During a television appearance, he was asked that exact question. His response made the case plainly: “As planners and architects, we build the world in which people live. We build the buildings. We design the communities. Will we build communities that place people over profits, or will we build communities that place profits over people? Where else should we have this discussion about the type of world that we want to live in but here?”

The panel for Forum I, introduced by Sid Clarke (MUP ’26), who serves as president of the Graduate Planning Student Association, included Dr. Taylor as well as:

• Dr. Lisa K. Bates, professor in the Department of Black Studies at Portland State University
• Dr. Prentiss Dantzler, associate professor in the Department of Sociology and founding director of the Housing Justice Lab at the University of Toronto
• Dr. Jamal B. Williams, assistant professor at the UB Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences

Dr. Keith A. Alford, dean and professor at the UB School of Social Work, served as moderator. 

Setting the tone for the evening in his opening statement, Dr. Dantzler reminded attendees that Black History Month is not just a month of remembrance, it’s a month of instruction. “It tells us and shows us the tasks and the duties and the obstacles that people before us have come to do, and ways to overcome any type of situation in this space.”

Following suit, the panel dug directly into the forces shaping Black life today. They spoke candidly about many topics including the undervaluation of Black-owned housing, rises in racialized authoritarian rhetoric, the erasure of Black history in education, public spaces, and cultural institutions, the crackdown on “divisive topics” in higher education (under the guise of DEI), policymaking that fails to align with the lived realities of marginalized communities, and the commodification of hip-hop—a genre born as a form of resistance.

Dr. Bates highlighted how mainstream narratives often misrepresent these realities. “Oftentimes in a traditional social science world, certainly as a city planner, the orientation is about pathologizing,” she shared. “It’s about delineating what's wrong with Black people that we remain so underdeveloped—not who underdeveloped us, not who made choices to disinvest in this neighborhood, but what's wrong with us that we can't just pick it up and engage and merge into the system.”

Dr. Williams built on this point by turning to health equity. While discussions on that topic often emphasize social determinants of health, he argued that the solution is frequently far more straightforward: “more socialized programming around food and housing insecurity.”

Illustrating how systemic inequities play out through housing instability, Dr. Dantzler referred to a Toronto study led by his colleague, Dr. Nemoy Lewis. It showed that even Black residents with higher incomes face elevated eviction rates when living under financialized landlords. This, he argued, reveals targeted attempts to maintain control over specific communities: “Look at shelter systems overflowing with Black and Indigenous people, homelessness counts, undervalued housing—if they end up owning property—and over-surveillance of particular neighborhoods.”

Despite the breadth of issues discussed, several themes consistently surfaced: the urgent need for quality affordable housing; the importance of shifting advocacy efforts away from billionaire-controlled social media platforms; the necessity of building alliances, kinship, and community, particularly among marginalized groups; and the recognition that systems of oppression have not disappeared—they have simply become more covert.

The panelists stressed that the way forward cannot be a return—a step backward—to neoliberalism. “I want to go back to basics,” Dr. Williams declared. “Are the material conditions of Black people changing? If not, who’s in the way of that? We can’t defeat racist authoritarianism today and go back to neoliberalism.”

The evening concluded with a question from the audience: “What do you think that children are learning from this political moment, and what do you think they will need to flourish in inhuman conditions?”

Dr. Bates reflected on the dual realities children currently inhabit: “There are children being taught that domination and prejudice are natural and normal, and there are others being taught that bravery and love and a spirit of justice is possible.” Educators, she stressed, play a critical role in shaping both groups of learners.

Dr. Taylor agreed and underscored the impact that can be made by the transformation of neighborhoods. “We need to focus on how we can transform the places where they live into spaces that will enable them to flourish, to grow, and to be the very best that they can be. And we have to teach them about a world where you put others ahead of yourself. One of the greatest enemies that we face is selfish individualism.”

Reimagine Black Futures during the Age of Authoritarianism Part II will be held on Wednesday, February 25 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. in UB’s Hayes Hall and via Zoom. The panel will be made up of students at the School of Architecture and Planning, and the discussion will be moderated by Dr. Henry-Louis Taylor, Jr. Register here! 

Now through February 27^th, the lobby of Hayes Hall features Net-Works: Dark Matter and the Periphery, an installation, led by Adjunct Instructors Samendy Brice and Albert Chao, exploring Buffalo’s often overlooked cultural and architectural landscapes — complementing the themes of the forums. The exhibition centers buildings, spaces, and communities that exist in the periphery, often under documented, yet they hold deep histories and narratives—particularly those shaped by minority and marginalized communities.

Co-designed with students from the Fall 2025 Media Class, the installation encourages viewers to reconsider Buffalo’s periphery as a site of meaning and memory. “This studio is not just about constructing a physical object,” explained Samendy Brice, adjunct instructor in the Department of Architecture. “It’s about contributing to a larger conversation around equity, visibility, and justice in the built environment. Through research and critical dialogue, the students have explored how architecture and urban planning intersect with community engagement, advocacy, and activism.”

The installation’s large wooden framework weaves together representations of significant community structures, forming a collective network that reflects the lived experiences of Buffalo’s marginalized geographies. Seating encourages visitors to linger and engage with the space.

For student Sean Tait (BS Arch ‘27), the project offered a meaningful opportunity to dive deeply into local histories. “I love learning about history and getting the details,” he explained. “It was really mind opening for me—both in my own research and seeing other students’ work—these places in the community make a big difference.”

Net-Works will be on display in Hayes Hall through February 27, open to the public Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.