 Welcome, and thank you for joining us for this National Trust for Historic Preservation Password presentation. We're excited to talk to you about integration of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in projects for heritage properties. I'm Brenda Williams. I'm a landscape architect specializing in work addressing historic landscapes and especially places that have deep meaning for living communities. I've been with Quinn Evans for 24 years and currently serve as the director of preservation planning at Quinn Evans. And I'm Nikita Reed, and I've been with the firm for about three years. And one of the things that I am excited to talk about today is a little bit of how the firm has created space to have really important conversations about justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion, particularly because most firms are not acknowledging the overlaps and opportunities of these different perspectives. And just for context, I am a licensed architect and I specialize in historic preservation and sustainability. Thanks, Nikita. So our learning objectives for this session are to help you understand why it is important to consciously embed justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in work addressing historic buildings and landscapes to learn to identify common concerns about integrating what we call Jedi principles into design and planning processes and ways of responding to those concerns and to learn strategies for implementing culturally inclusive design practices. So why consciously embedding justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in work addressing historic buildings and landscapes is essential to honor and preserve the full history of historic properties, ensure people with a wide range of backgrounds, abilities and perspectives can access and engage in meaningful ways and ensure historic sites are relevant to communities in the future. People want to be in places that are vibrant and diverse. Preservation design that is inclusive is attractive to and can be enjoyed by all kinds of people. For example, the entrance to the National Museum of Natural History now consists of a gracious ascent for all visitors, no matter their physical ability. The new approach harmonizes with the museum's historic facade, going beyond minimum accessibility requirements to create a dignified and equitable experience. Design added symmetrical walkways to either side of the museum's monumental stair, which rises 13 feet above Madison Drive. The accessible walk is connected to the stair at both ends, meaning all visitors begin and end their ascent at the same place. The design balances access, historic context, and the Smithsonian standards to better serve the museum's millions of annual visitors. In order to understand the unique needs of diverse clients and communities, professionals need to reflect that diversity in our own teams, partnerships, and really all that we do. Diversity strengthens the collective creativity and innovation essential to preserving and rehabilitating heritage places. An example is Cunevans, where we are purposefully working to address diversity, inclusion, equity, and justice at our firm and in our work. We track and scrutinize our progress and strive to do better. Currently 26% of our employees identify as part of minority groups, which is well above the national average, but really not good enough. 44% of our registered architects are women, which again is well above the average, but we can do better. As of April 2022, we are proud to be a woman-led, woman-owned firm in a profession where women have historically been underrepresented. Also, 13, almost and almost a half percent of our leadership are members of minority groups, and a little bit over 5% of our firm is minority or owned. Good, but not good enough. Nikita? All right. And so as Brenda mentioned, we are working to improve. And so our firm-wide justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion committee provides regular updates and recommendations to our board of directors. And we also coordinate internal diversity training and facilitate an open dialogue about race and social justice issues through our quarterly all staff book discussions. We still have a lot of work to do, but in all of our leadership planning efforts, we're focused on increasing the minority ownership of the firm. So we have a more diverse leadership and also because we know that that's going to create more opportunities, better outcomes on projects and have a better connection with the communities that we serve. And so one of the things that we often hear as we've been having these conversations across office and across the profession is that I just want to do good preservation design. And so we want to start this presentation by just reminding everyone that inclusive preservation design is good preservation design. And inherently, heritage work is Jedi work because a lot of the work that we do within the heritage profession is we're really deciding whose history and architecture should be preserved for whom and why. And so to set the stage, we wanted to prevent and so to set the stage, we wanted to share some of the Jedi principles and provide some grounding definitions. So when we talk about justice, we're talking about fair and just processes. Think of it as writing a wrong. For equity, we're thinking about equitable access to the same opportunities and recognizing that different people may need different things to be able to have equitable access. Diversity is being mindful to recognize differences and that inclusion is making sure that we are valuing, respecting and embracing those differences. So as of 2021, about 2% of the National Register of Historic Places included properties that were focused on African American history. There are similar stats for women's history and LGBTQ plus history. Historically, the sites that have been celebrated for their historic significance have centered white male history. And so one of the first books that we read as a company after our DEI committee was formed was White Fragility, which was written by a white author explaining why it's so hard for white people to talk about racism. And two of the quotes that we wanted to highlight to provide context for this heritage conversation are the top one, which says, it is white people's responsibility to be less fragile. People of color don't need to twist themselves into knots trying to navigate as painlessly as possible. And the second quote, which is the bottom, which says, whiteness rest upon the foundational premise that the definition of white as the norm or standard for human and people of color as a deviation from that norm. And so additionally, we want to make it clear that our intent is to be more holistic in the history that we're telling. Various groups in this country have a rich heritage that has impacted the shape of the country. And this quote by historian David McCullough perfectly encapsulates the sentiment that history is no longer a spotlight. We are turning up the stage lights to show the entire cast. So the next context that we are thinking about as we're doing our heritage projects is that we need to be mindful that we are also looking at the various policies that have shaped the built environment. One such policy is redlining, and that was done by various government agencies. And it's a discriminatory practice that put services, both financial and otherwise, out of the reach for residents for certain areas based on their race or ethnicity. Being mindful of that also results in many tangible manifestations, including Detroit's Burwood Wall, which is one of the civil rights era's most egregious symbols of housing segregation. And it was a physical wall that was built to divide a black neighborhood from a white one. It's about six feet tall and one foot thick. And it's a concrete barrier that was built in the early 1940s, which extends about half a mile. So as we're looking at our heritage projects, we're making sure that we're being mindful of the existing conditions and context and policies that these things exist in. And then finally, as we are looking at expanding the listings and nominations, this is a reminder that as professionals in the heritage space, we can shape what's elevated for nomination. This is a photo of Robert DeForest, who is one of the DeForest brothers. And as part of the Afro-American Bicentennial Corp, or ABC, he and his brothers established and worked to nominate 61 national historic landmarks and sites within 22 states between 1971 and 1989, because before then there just weren't that many heritage sites on the register that were elevating African-American stories. And as we're looking at historic properties and landscapes and architectural integrity, one thing that we often keep in mind is the fact that a lot of times, as Stephanie Weiberg-Webster puts it, architecture and integrity are often the gateways to preservation protections and benefits, but in marginalized communities, they are an excuse for exclusion. So whenever we're thinking about sites that are in historically disenfranchised areas, we're mindful to look at other ways that we can elevate historic stories and sites and integrity. Because to be clear, as we are talking about historic properties and landscapes, we are talking about certified historic structures and landscapes. And as many of you know, there are various levels of certification that come with various protections and also stringent design review scales, depending upon where they are on the spectrum. And so buildings that are contributing to a historic district or national register, those ones typically have lower design review requirements than buildings that are listed on local, state, city, or county landmarks. And all of those ones are much less reviewed or much less stringently reviewed than any buildings or landscapes that are national historic landmarks. Thanks so much, Nikita. So what is inclusive preservation design? There's probably no one definition, but we have thoughts to share with you. Great design really begins with questions and requires courage to be open to new information and ideas. It also requires humility to acknowledge your own limitations and value the contributions of others. Design is a team effort that requires a wide range of skills and perspectives to guide positive change that is resilient and synthesizes complex needs. Design for historic properties that adheres to the secretary of interior standards and results in places that can be used, enjoyed, and re-enjoyed regardless of age, culture, ability, or circumstance, results in places that benefit all who use them. An example is Checker Cab. This project was the first in a series of prominent mixed-use buildings known collectively as Elton Park that have adapted vacant historic buildings, adding dense residential and retail space to the Corktown neighborhood of Detroit. Equality, diversity, and inclusion are not add-ons to good preservation design. They are essential, integrating components to all projects. We professionals diligently consider planned work from every angle we understand, but we also need to seek out the perspectives that are different from ours. As part of our common practice for all of our work, for example, are we inviting people to meetings who cannot understand the invitation? Language is a barrier that is often overlooked. At Hamtramik, the community includes a majority of first-generation Americans from Yemen, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. In 2013, it became the first Muslim-majority city in the United States. Here, invitations to public events must be presented in multiple languages to reach community members. We have some examples to share that illustrate what Jedi preservation can look like. And the first one I'm going to talk about is designed for justice. The indigenous burial ground that was called Indian Mounds Regional Park for over a century has been a sacred site for over 1,000 years. It is significant to living indigenous people as a cemetery where their ancestors are buried. When the city of St. Paul established a park in this location in 1892, with the purpose of protecting the historical setting and spectacular views, connections of indigenous peoples to the sacred site were not understood, considered, or valued. Through public gatherings and generous sharing by tribal representatives and local residents, as well as park users, understanding was expanded and a vision for the future of the site was established that includes changes to the landscape to convert areas of pavement and moan lawn into native plant communities that support cultural connections for indigenous peoples and improve habitat and groundwater recharge. A critical first step is use of Dakota language to convey messages of welcome to indigenous people and to help everyone understand the sacred nature of the site. At Michigan Central Station, the restoration of grand historic spaces, creation of small moments where the work of graffiti artists is highlighted, and integration of new spaces and technologies within the building. The rehabilitation reflects the story of Detroit and the Corktown neighborhood from its flourishing industrial heritage through the years the building stood empty and toward a promising future as a hub for transportation. The design emphasizes placemaking and the creation of an inclusive environment with interior and exterior public spaces for community gathering and connectivity. Equity is embedded in the rehabilitation that makes a strong reinvestment in a Detroit neighborhood and its people, incorporates a Detroit resident workforce development program, includes development of a mobility platform creating non-motorized trails and green space to connect the station to downtown, includes space for local small businesses on the ground floor and contains interior and exterior public spaces for community gathering and connectivity. The Molina family Latina Gallery at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History recognizes Latino's achievements and contributions to American culture. It helps connect contemporary themes to historical context to provide a rich interpretive journey. Reinforcing the exhibition Celebration of Diversity, the design leverages sensory mapping and universal design principles to meet the needs of visitors with differing mobility, sensory and cognitive abilities. One example is the placement of speakers to create focused sound experiences buffered by quiet spaces. And the next one we wanted to share with you is designed for inclusion. And this includes the Ambassador Theater, which is a local Baltimore historic landmark. And this project is going to be a great example where reinvestment in the community without displacement is emphasized. The long dilapidated building is in an economically strained community and it's going to be renovated to create a place for artists and workforce development program. So far, the community members have been actively involved in determining the programming, the scale of spaces and design attributes that are going to help create this into a vibrant place. And then the number of community engagement listening sessions as well as community access to the existing building and this building that has been a staple in the community for so long is something that's really driving the design. And so as we have been doing this work, having various conversations, there are a number of common concerns that have come up recurringly. And so we wanted to go ahead and address those directly. And of course, seeing as we are talking about Jedi, we had to do at least one Star Wars, we had to do to Star Wars at least once. And so as we are talking through the remainder of this presentation, we really encourage you to use the force to resist any resistance you may feel around any of the following ideas of feeling like, well, you can't really implement these policies or these principles because it's not in the budget or the scope. The client hasn't explicitly asked for it. Someone from the black, indigenous, or persons of color community has not told you what to do. You just don't know what to do in general. You don't wanna offend someone or be called racist, or you just wanna focus on the buildings and landscapes. And that last one, a lot of times people for some reason assume that people aren't included or won't be impacted by the buildings and landscapes. Okay, but how? And so we're gonna go through a number of action items and projects to provide you with some additional examples in how to continue doing this work. One of the first things that we do when we're working on projects through a Jedi lens is to make sure that we're defining our own cultural defaults. And it's important to understand your own vantage point based on your lived experience because this will help you better understand what assumptions you're making, what are you able to speak to and what are you not able to speak to. And being able to know and name your biases will make clear what is not being represented so you can help identify who should be consulted. Yeah, so we've got some examples to share with you again. So the work done to develop a new and more inclusive visitor experience at Historic Fort Snelling, a national historic landmark and Minnesota State Historic Site is one. So the site is known for its association with U.S. military history. The fort was established in 1810 to support the United States government's westward expansion. But it's also a place of origin and persecution and remembrance for Minnesota Dakota nations who come to the site today to connect with their heritage and pay respect to their ancestors. The site is surplus military property and an NHL where no adverse effect is allowed. Our work here to renew the experience of visitors began with a focus on the rehabilitation of the barracks for a new visitor center, if you wanna go the next one. But when we met with the Minnesota Dakota representatives the need to preserve spaces important for tribal use and create places for reconnection with the sacred site was revealed. The design of the landscape progressed with tribal advisors guiding creation of spaces for healing and cultural learning in locations where integrity related to military history had previously been lost. The result is a site where visitors are introduced to the indigenous and treaty history before moving through the barracks and for it. And the visitor experience now is really multi-layered and cultural connections are strengthened. So who do you include and how do you include them? To create equitable anything we need to have diverse perspectives present. But how do we do that? So start by identifying key perspectives to include. Think about who will be affected by the work that you're doing and whether or not their perspectives are represented. You may need to go out and ask community members to identify collaborators to be on your project team or stakeholders or other individuals to be involved in guiding the work. Every project is unique and so are the people who will use the outcome. So we use a broad toolbox of strategies to customize for each project. So for the Hamtramic Recreation District Plan we needed to hear from people of varying ages, cultures and abilities. To do that we attended festivals and set up hands-on activities. We attended community dinners. We met with focus groups in spaces that were comfortable for them. And other techniques include conducting door-to-door surveys and also both in-person and virtual workshops. The result at Hamtramic is a design that includes activities and spaces that we really didn't anticipate. One example is small living rooms nestled in a green alley facing the playground, creating spaces for parents to engage with each other while being oriented to easily keep track of their children. These spaces are uniquely designed to respond to the desires of women in the community, to have intimate spaces that simultaneously provide a sense of enclosure, safety and visibility and that are removed from locations where young men are playing sports. So additionally, you also need to look to externalize the conversation. So you wanna make sure that you're establishing relationships like Brenda mentioned, so that they can be relationships that are community-wide, client-to-community, project-team-to-community and they will include multiple perspectives and also it'll highlight for you if it's not your community that you'll be able to connect with local resources. And from there, we also encourage to meet face-to-face even if it's virtual, very much like this conference is because different communication styles, emotions and tone can better be inferred through voice communication instead of solely through writing. And then conversation helps us become more aware of the unacknowledged biases and issues and that awareness helps us change. And so since we are professional designers and we design for people and people are a most important source of information to inform great design. And then in our heritage practice, we are excelling in designing change that is sensitive to both historic significance and future aspirations, needs and desires. And an example of this is one in Newport News, the Southeast Community Resource Area where there's a historic high school that is gonna be renovated to also include additions in space on a new campus that's going to combine the library, the community center, another middle school as well as an additional community space. And so there are a number of stakeholders in this Newport News community that need to be involved and at the table for the redevelopment of this campus and being able to meet face to face with them was very helpful to help understand and negotiate the space needs and when and where there'd be spaces that could be co-shared with the different programs. And one of the big things that we also do within our work or strive to do within our work is to tell the full story because we know that context and language matter and acknowledging the truth doesn't change the past and we firmly believe that it's required for building an inclusive future. And so one of the projects that we worked on recently is the woman suffrage context study where we were really looking at the woman suffrage movement particularly in Washington DC and looking at different buildings and structures and context of the suffrage movement. The period of significance was not just the 19th Amendment, it really was expanded to include all the way up to home rule in DC in the early 1970s. And one of the things in telling this full story was that I have really understanding that while the 19th Amendment gave women or gave women the right to vote in reality, it really gave white women the right to vote due to various forms of discrimination. Indigenous women weren't considered US citizens until 1924 with the passes of the Snyder Act. And as a whole, women of color were not effectively protected by law to vote until 1965 with the passage of the Voting Rights Act. So being able to really look at the context and the narrative within that project has helped us to be able to tell a fuller story of the woman suffrage movement. Another example of telling the full story is the Dorothy Hamm School and that renovation that happened in Northern Virginia. And so one of the quotes from the School Board Association was that history often inspires design. And this is especially true for Dorothy Hamm which was formerly known as Stratford Junior High. And it was the first public school in Virginia to be integrated. And the team drew from the rich history of the school and robust community engagement to transform the existing facility into an innovative space for collaborative learning. In exploring ways history can be celebrated and revitalized facility to continue to tell the story of racial equity through spaces and learning. It's now all of the new students and future students that will be going through this school will have a better understanding of the history of their historic structure. Yeah, so another example is Stones River National Battlefield which commemorates the 1862-63 Civil War Battle in Murphysboro, Tennessee. But there are again many other layers of significance embedded in this landscape. In the aftermath of the war the battlefield's landscape was reshaped in large part through the actions of formerly enslaved Black people some of them veterans of the 111st United States colored troops who settled the land in and around the battlefield. They formed a majority Black settlement which included farmsteads of varying sizes, churches, a school and a graveyard. Many community members became landowners during the 1870s and through the 1920s. Efforts to establish a national park on the battlefield began in the late 19th century and most of the land for the park was taken through condemnation from the landowners of the Black community. The commission responsible for identifying land for the new park perceived the Black community as poor and uneducated and determined that the park was a more suitable use of the land than their established community. From 1929 to 1934 the land was acquired through condemnation and all structures on the land were moved or demolished. Although most visible features associated with the community were removed from the park landscape a handful do still remain. And outside of the park boundary numerous existing buildings and structures, graveyard and community gathering spaces provide tangible connections for the community and its members and descendants. So preparation of a cultural landscape report for the battlefield included interviewing descendants of the Black community and identifying locations in the landscape tied to their stories. The CLR recommends adding trails, interpretation and gathering spaces where stories of the community and the impact of African-American families on the history of Middle Tennessee can be shared. Recommendations also designate spaces to serve Black community members today for gatherings and reunions in the park and in the landscape. One of the most important things that we all need to do is listen with respect and learn from what we hear. When we ask specific questions and we repeat what we hear and ask for clarification when we don't understand we learn. So it's so important that we're open to unexpected replies and prepare to adjust in response to those replies. Talking about inclusive and equitable design with our friends, co-workers, clients, collaborators, shareholders, stakeholders and community is a really important part like Nikita was saying before. This conversation helps us become more aware of our unacknowledged biases and issues and that awareness helps us to change. So designing for diversity isn't an event to add on to the design process. We need to keep learning and building understanding and keeping the conversation going. It's not a one-off event. It is a continuous process of learning and growing and improving and misstepping and then correcting and collectively making change through that process. Absolutely. And so we're back to the how. And so we've given you a number of examples. And so at the moment we wanted to recap it and just mention what it's not. So it's not a formula. It's not the only goal. It's also not rocket science, but it can be hard and it also does not need to be complex or expensive. And so one of the tools that we wanted to make sure we highlight for you and we will include this in a list of resources at the end of the presentation is the new AutoCase Environmental Justice Tool. And so Quinn Evans is one of the founding investors and it's the Building Environmental Justice Tool and it's being developed by AutoCase. And so this project tool enables users to create projects and get relevant localized data instantly. And it follows a guided questionnaire to better account for social equity. This, what's great about this tool is that it really provides a informative data dashboard that's interactive with an amenity map, socioeconomic data, demographic data and environmental data, as well as a climate change risk. And it's intended to stimulate discussion and consideration of ways to integrate social equity into your project. The interactive questionnaire follows the USGBC's social equity project tool and it encourages the teams to focus on what is possible by raising questions that are not often asked or asked only once it's too late to have a real impact. And so it's really critical to start using this tool and as early as possible, pre-design wherever possible and including your whole team in the dialogue. So that would be your architects, engineers, planners, developers, owners, managers, et cetera to really make sure that they're seeing the information and so are stakeholders and representatives of the stakeholders who will be affected by the project beyond the building's edge. And it can be used as a tool during a foundation or workshop or a charrette and really throughout the entire planning process. And then finally, it's really made to be able to initiate a three-step process to identify potential strategies that will enhance social impact so you can identify, address and then act on these tools. And so we're super excited to be able to share this and again it'll be listed in the link at the end of the presentation. And so as one of the final reminders we wanted to make sure to put this up because on the one hand it seems like it goes without saying on the other hand we needed to be more explicit about it. So the big takeaway is don't expect only people of color to speak up on racial issues and impacts. It's a reminder that everyone is impacted either negatively or positively by Jedi principles. And so it's happened to me in the past where I've had a friend who will say something to me along the lines of oh, I heard something that was so racist or sexist or homophobic or problematic or any of the issues. And they say to me, you totally would have said something if you were there and my response to them is typically well you were there, why didn't you say something? And so this is just an encouragement and a call to action to just don't wait for someone else to call out problematic behavior particularly in the profession. We all have access to different spheres of influence so we should all use our voice where possible. And so for thank you for listening. And so just circling it all the way back to the idea of I just wanna do preservation design. And here's a reminder that inclusive preservation design is good preservation design. Thank you so much for listening. And if you're looking for additional resources, here's a link at the bottom where you can go to and there's a number of different resources that you can peruse for a little bit to learn more about more Jedi principles within the design and heritage profession. And if you are manually typing in the URL, be sure to capitalize the Q and the V and the address. Thank you so much, Nikita. And I'll just kind of wrap up by saying doing a presentation like this, it feels a little weird because it seems like there's some sort of expertise or authority that we present, but we're actually just practitioners who do our work and care really deeply about ensuring that our work is reaching and honoring the people that we are honored to work with. So I just encourage everyone out there to think about that perspective, check out those additional resources and definitely touch base with me or Nikita if you wanna chat about this. We love talking about it and we love making, thinking about what kind of difference can be made out there in the world.