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on "playing to win, rather than playing not to lose." The CONGRESS is inclusionary and not exclusionary in that all who can contribute are encouraged to participate on "a level playing field". In a sense, the CONGRESS is Utopian, but Utopian for the present.

BACKGROUND
During the past several years, the African American architect has been characterized as "invisible" and "endangered" in the popular and professional press and in the several forums convened by majority universities and organizations to discuss "the situation." The Whitney M. Young, Jr. 1968 speech during the AIA's annual convention established an initial public position on the posture of African Americans in the profession of architecture. Subsequently, and through the statements of activists such as Robert Coles, FAIA, the issue of the relatively small and diminishing numbers of African American architects suggests the need for a concerted effort to research and respond to an unacceptable level of access and participation. A reliable study done by Professor Dennis Mann, AIA, University of Cincinnati, has recorded a mere 877, or less than 1% of the total, registered African American architects in the United States.

Among the premises for the CONGRESS are positions taken by Dean Harry G. Robinson, III and expressed in writing and through presentations to the College of Fellows Task Force on African Americans in Architecture, the AIA Architects in Education Committee and the ACSA African Americans in Schools of Architecture Task Force (Enclosure 2, "We've been paid for"). Essentially, he posits that 1) we are neither "invisible," nor "endangered" as the coded journalistic language suggests, 2) the extent to which we become either is within our control, and 3) it will be a collective movement among African American architects that reverses the negative pathologies and stereotypes framing our image (Enclosure 3, selected articles). Central to his positions are the powerful impact that highly visible role from the African American community, and the chilling question "what would the Nation's response be if there were no African American physicians, architects and