AIASF Exhibition - 50 Years After Whitney Young Jr.

Opening Reception: Thursday, June 20 | Exhibition On View: June 20 - July 21, 2019

This compelling exhibition celebrates Whitney M. Young Jr. (July 31, 1921 – March 11, 1971), an American civil rights leader who spent most of his career working to end employment discrimination in the United States and turning the National Urban League from a relatively passive civil rights organization into one that aggressively worked for equitable access to socioeconomic opportunity for the historically disenfranchised. From his monumental speech at the 1968 AIA National Convention to the subsequent award that bears his name, Young’s legacy has reshaped the world of architecture for half a century, offering architects a new perspective on the built environment. The preceding decades witnessed monumental progress in America’s troubled road toward racial equality. But as he stood at the podium before the nation’s leading architectural organization, Young gazed upon a sea of almost entirely white, male faces. He saw an AIA that appeared unfazed by the changing world around it and seized the opportunity to start a conversation that carries on to this day.

This exhibition is developed in part using the "50 Years After Whitney Young Jr." exhibition from the Architects Foundation, the philanthropic partner of AIA. Copyright © 2019 Architects Foundation. Used with permission. All rights reserved.