On the 50th anniversary of the first Black History Month celebrations in the United States, the Frances Loeb Library invited the GSD community to submit books that contribute to the conversation on race and design. This effort was coordinated by Tara Oluwafemi and Michelle Baildon.

This library guide supports the mission of the African American Design Nexus to curate an open-access bibliography that will lift up diverse voices and perspectives of the past and present while also inspiring a paradigm shift for the future of pedagogy and practice. The African American Design Nexus is an initiative developed by the Frances Loeb Library in collaboration with the GSD African American Student Union. Its mission is to showcase and initiate conversation about the work of Black designers throughout the world and to critically re-examine the legacy of racial discourses in modern and contemporary design thinking and practice. In the spirit of participation and accessibility, the bibliographic process is open to all members of the GSD community to engage in more personal, sustained conversations about race and design during this month and beyond.

The library guide especially seeks out contributions from authors, architects, designers, and critics from the African diaspora, as well as media centering on the work of Black designers past and present. The Frances Loeb Library will expand library collections to acquire recommended literature that is not currently present in the library. Submitted items will be displayed on a rotating basis. 

The display and bibliography aim to begin to fill in narrative gaps and spark meaningful dialogue about race in the design community.

To continue the work that began with this initial call, the African American Design Nexus has paired this bibliography with The Nexus podcast. Guests on the podcast are encouraged to discuss works on the intersection of design and race that have been influential to their practice. In this way, this list will expand with input from beyond the GSD community.

Institution

Harvard University Graduate School of Design

Department

Frances Loeb Library and the African American Design Nexus

Project

Library Guide

Date

Spring 2020