Statement of Goals

In keeping with PA’s mission to advance preservation as a diverse field of public and professional endeavors, and in acknowledgement of inherent biases, systemic racism, and white-centeredness within preservation practice, the Anti-racism / Equity Initiative was created by the Board of Preservation Alumni (PA) to promote and support social justice and equity within the PA community, at Columbia’s Historic Preservation (HP) program, and in the field of historic preservation.

The Initiative seeks to:

Amplify non-white and underrepresented voices and histories within the PA community.
Support and highlight members’ professional endeavors that use preservation as a tool for social justice and to empower historically marginalized communities.
Provide resources to members to help them remain informed about the role of historic preservation in promoting social justice and equity.
Facilitate connections between current students and alumni to strengthen historic preservation’s role in overcoming implicit bias and to support students’ contributions towards shaping a more just and equitable profession.
Support and encourage the HP program’s goals in achieving equity and diversity, through actions such as support for the program’s recruitment outreach efforts and assistance with providing opportunities to students from diverse backgrounds.

Pushing Perspectives

In an effort to address equity and diversity in our community and profession, from 2020 to 2023 the Initiative hosted a lecture series: “Pushing Perspectives." This virtual series provided thoughtful conversations on the state of the preservation profession and explored methods that can be incorporated into our practice to address inclusivity and equity.

Recorded Events

Can We Make Preservation Relevant in Advancing Social Justice?

Exploring Equity in Preservation Trade Careers

Confronting Biases in Historic Building Materials Research

Closing the Gap: Increasing Diversity in Library Collections

This event was not recorded. You can read the transcript of the event here.

You can also view many of our events on the Pushing Perspectives YouTube channel

Other Activities

The Initiative has pursued a number of projects to further our mission. Many are currently on pause pending additional resources; several are on-going activities of Preservation Alumni. Previous and current projects include: Alumni Profiles. We created a compilation of profiles of alumni, to highlight the wide variety of career paths - and salary ranges - that can include preservation, with a particular focus on jobs that support underserved communities. The Career Paths compilation is directed largely at our members who are emerging professionals; however it is a useful tool for students as well as professionals at any stage of their careers. The 2023-24 compilation was made available to all PA members. The compilation may be expanded at a future date, and is available here (requires login). Supporting Avery Library's efforts to diversify their collection. Previous Pushing Perspectives events and follow up conversations with interested PA members laid the groundwork for several direct conversations with staff at Avery Library. With them, and using the results of a survey that was answered by 55 of our members (thank you!) we developed a list of actions that Preservation Alumni and others might take to support the Library's efforts. Although this work is currently quiescent, as preservation professionals working on related issues every day we should continue to alert the Library to under-resourced research topics and provide them with ideas for where to acquire a more diverse range of resources. A report on the findings of the survey is available here. Using the Plazcek Fund to diversify the Avery Library collection. Each year, Preservation Alumni donates funds for Avery Library to acquire new materials for the collection; PA chooses how the funds will be used. We have communicated to Avery our desire to focus on the purchase of materials that increase the diversity of the collection. Recent acquisitions reflect this goal. We ensure that all new acquisitions are digitized so that they are widely accessible. Advocating for a fair wage for all internships. Internships that do not offer a living wage are inherently biased towards people of means and are a barrier to many people from institutionally underserved communities. At a future date, we hope to encourage preservation programs in the United States to sign a pledge that they will only advertise and promote internships that offer a living wage. When complete, we will make the list of signatories publicly accessible. Educating Columbia students about career paths that further equity and inclusion within preservation practice. The Initiative created an Alumni Speaker Series to put small groups of students in conversation with alumni who have used preservation as a tool to work towards diversity, equity, and inclusion in their careers. Two alumnae met with students, in the fall of 2023 and of 2024. We hope to provide this service to students again at a future date.

Interested in Supporting These Efforts?

We welcome new ideas for avenues to pursue as well as participation in our activities from all Preservation Alumni members. Please reach out to us using the Contact Us button at the bottom of the page if you would like to be more involved.

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