Black Lives Matter. George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery are part of a tragic and ongoing list of deaths, often occurring at the hands of law enforcement, due to racist hatred and stereotypes that perpetuate harm, harassment, and the killing of Black Americans, of which there appears to be no end. We recognize that there is an infrastructure of disenfranchisement in our country’s social systems, that sanctions hate in our communities and stifles the opportunities afforded to Black people.
There are fundamental questions that we as part of the design community have to address: how has the design of the built environment contributed to the perpetuation of these injustices and how can we contribute to ending these ingrained social and economic harms? From this moment forward our team is committed to actively serving as an ally to the Black community, toward racial, social and economic justice. We know that to move forward we must contribute to the development of public policies that empower Black and other minority voices and seek knowledge and understanding. We have to cross barriers between each other and across communities to achieve a common goal of justice and the pursuit of happiness and equity for all.
In this moment of protest, OLIN is re-examining our capacity to do more. There is much for us to do but here are our first actions:
OLIN will donate $10,000 to Black-led organizations that foster social and economic justice for Black and other oppressed communities.
OLIN, in consultation with Black leaders in Landscape Architecture will develop Black and minority hiring goals to increase minority leadership in our own studio and in our field of Landscape Architecture and Urban Design.
OLIN will invest in our employees to build a more inclusive and aware organization that is prepared to confront and redress these deeply disturbing ingrained patterns.
Through OLIN Labs, the research component of our practice, we are launching research initiatives to expand the capacity of our practice to combat disparities caused by racial and ethnic disenfranchisement.
These long-standing societal failures are compounded in particular with the intensification of climate change, because through generations of racist practices we have forced so many minority communities into harm's way. These social, environmental, and economic inequalities in our landscape will only intensify if we do nothing. We must act quickly with compassion and fortitude to support those communities suffering as a result of discriminatory policies. OLIN is committed to design that brings value to all, not just the privileged, and which strengthens economically challenged communities. These are the first steps to grow our commitments to help heal the traumas perpetuated by racism, but we understand the journey has just started.
