PORTLAND – June 1, 2020 - AIA Oregon 2020 President Amy Vohs, AIA issued the following statement:

“As architects, we are community builders. As leaders of AIA Oregon, it is important for us to speak out in support of our communities of color. We must find and maintain empathy for our friends and neighbors in pain. We must look for more ways to support and strengthen our most vulnerable communities.

Our society – including our profession – is slow to show progress in addressing systemic racial inequalities in our communities. And while George Floyd is the most recent person of color added to the long list of victims of unwarranted police brutality in the United States, it is emblematic of a pattern that threatens to unravel the fabric of our communities. It is a pattern that deepens wounds, and we must break this pattern for the community healing process to begin.

As a predominately white profession, Oregon architects have a responsibility to use our privilege to push for lasting change. It is the mission of the AIA Oregon Committee on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (CoEDI) to better reflect the global & demographic richness of our population through advocacy for under-represented groups in our profession. We remain focused on educational and training opportunities for our members to openly discuss inequities within our profession, and to listen and learn from people who are working to change viewpoints on race, gender, and identity within architecture. We will announce these opportunities as they arise.”