In our lives we are all called to build social structures and infrastructures, but we usually entrust architects with the task of designing physical structures, buildings where we can live and work. But, at the end of May – in the wake of George Floyd's killing by the police in Minneapolis, a tragic event that was just followed by the news that in March another black man, Manuel Ellis, 33, died of respiratory arrest in Washington State while in police custody – the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) issued a statement regarding racial injustice that reshifts the attention from architecture on the possibility of designing another and more equal society.
Founded in Detroit by twelve Black architects in 1971 and rooted in the legacy of activism, NOMA was established to foster justice and equity in communities of colour and to work towards eradicating racism in the architecture field. The organisation's mission remains the same in essence in our days, but it has also been recalibrated after the recent events. 
The Statement Regarding Racial Injustice (that you can read on the NOMA site at this link) by the organisation's National President Kimberly Dowdell is a call to condemn racism and take an active role in eliminating racial biases from our lives. One question inspires the content of the document – how can architects protect the health, safety and welfare of the public if the USA do not consider Black Americans as full members of the society?
Opening with the words "The air in our nation is thick with a profound sense of grief and despair. Our collective air is so very thick that it's literally hard to breathe. We struggle to grasp for air as we all navigate a global pandemic coupled with the deadly and pervasive virus called racism that has plagued America for over four centuries," the statement then invites everybody to fight against racially motivated violence against people of colour and support people of colour who want to enter and thrive in the profession of architecture.
"As a professional organization, our primary focus should be on supporting and serving our members," Dowdell states. "Right now, our members are hurting. This is traumatic. NOMA is here to address this pain in the best ways we know how. Before we can confidently advocate for greater economic opportunities for architects of color, we need to ensure that those very people are first able to breathe."
The statement closes with a call and a slogan: the former is addressed to ALL, an acronym that stands for promoting diverse Access, Leadership and Legacy in the context of the profession of architecture, but that it is also a message for each and everyone of us to join in.
The slogan B.R.A.V.E. means instead banish, reach, advocate, vote and engage, and the statements concludes with the words "If we can promote these basic ideas in our firms, our organizations and in our communities, our nation will be better for it. Perhaps then, we can all breathe a little bit easier. Only then, can we target our energy and creativity towards designing a better world for all."
Hopefully, NOMA will be able to bring more debates about diversity in architecture also at the Architecture Biennale in Venice that will take place next year after it was postponed because of the Coronavirus emergency. The theme of the 17th International Architecture Exhibition – "How will we live together?" – is indeed very relevant as it demands us to consider new solutions not just for what regards the buildings and physical spaces that we occupy, but also regarding our society and the bonds and relationships we create among us to make this world a better place.