Justice, EQUITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
Often used interchangeably, justice, equity, diversity and inclusion are not synonyms. Each has a different meaning, and each plays a unique and interrelated role in shaping our design culture, core values and outcomes for a better future together. At SmithGroup, we are committed to the hard work to champion and employ just policies and equitable frameworks to foster diverse representation and inclusive outcomes. J.E.D.I. leadership in these topics strengthens workplace culture, prioritizes talent development and retention, builds deeper community, and elevates design excellence that is accessible to all people.
OUR COMMITMENT
In 2018, we committed to design a better future for ourselves, our clients, and our communities. Today and every day, we pledge to confront our past and take actions to dismantle systemic racism, injustice and inequity within SmithGroup, across our professions, and in our work that impacts the built environment. We will think critically and act boldly to design a better future by identifying, correcting and, replacing systems that have caused great harm to historically marginalized communities of color, including Black and Indigenous people.
J.E.D.I. AT SMITHGROUP
The ordering of the four words is intentional to remind us of the priorities that make lasting and sustainable change. Justice - first we must recognize and abolish the policies and practices that have historically oppressed and disenfranchised individuals’ and communities’ access to the environment, health, and socioeconomic mobility. Equity – we must create equitable frameworks that mitigate challenges and barriers resulting from unjust policies and practices. The metrics of these efforts will be Diverse representation and Inclusive outcomes.
COMMITTEE MEMBERS
The individuals on our committee have a record of passion, action, and commitment to the goal of ending systemic racism and injustice. This group of champions represent staff members of varying demographic representation, as well as a wide range of lived experiences, both personally and professionally. With this intentional intersection of identities on our committee we can lead the efforts for a more just and equitable future for our firm.
JUSTICE, EQUITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
We know that the design professions have not yet created the work environment that we’ve long envisioned—one that truly positions people of all disciplines and backgrounds to succeed and allows varied, mission-advancing perspectives to be recognized and valued. The SmithGroup J.E.D.I. Scholarship Program is one step to achieving this goal.
This scholarship program directly addresses barriers to success for future professionals by providing tuition assistance and professional opportunities to students who are committed to advancing diversity and inclusion in the design industry. The support and mentorship built into our J.E.D.I. Scholarship helps future designers further their education and professional development.
OUR J.E.D.I. LEADERS SHARE HOW OUR CULTURE IS EVOLVING
Our commitment to Design a Better Future includes creating a workplace focused on justice, equity, diversity and inclusion (or J.E.D.I.). Architect Chris Mayor and architectural designer Kamille Hampton, both members of SmithGroup’s J.E.D.I. Committee, speak OFF THE CUFF about how our J.E.D.I. values are advancing the culture at SmithGroup. Together with their fellow committee members, they are guiding change in our policies, processes and investments to become the just, equitable and inclusive workplace we aspire to.
LEADING THE CONVERSATION
Disrupting White Supremacy in Museum Architecture
In June 2020, the world took to the streets calling for an end to anti-Black racism and police brutality in the wake of the killings of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky by local police officers. Though these protests were far from the first of their kind, they proved to be a watershed moment, forcing a reckoning with racial justice in nearly all aspects of American life, including the arts.
DESIGNING SOLUTIONS
Richmond National Slavery Museum at the Lumpkin's Slave Jail Site
Interpreting the complex and painful history of enslavement in America goes far beyond designing a physical structure. It first involves designing a process to ensure that an entire community of voices are heard, and the messages shared are thoughtful, truthful and lead to greater understanding.
