George Floyd\u2019s life was tragically stolen due to cultural bias, racial stereotypes, and overall absence of accountability for systemic racism.<\/p>\n
It would be easy for one to believe that within the fields of building and design these issues do not directly impact our industry, or if they do, that the impact is minimal. This couldn\u2019t be more wrong.<\/p>\n
Far too often, professional dreams are crushed and stolen, due to the very same cultural bias, racial stereotypes, and overall absence of accountability for systemic racism within our very industry. A logical mind may resist a statement of this magnitude; after all, we are thought to be in a merit-based business where hard work and determination are rewarded without prejudice.<\/p>\n
\nAs a project manager with nearly 10 years of experience, I know the rigors and rewards. I am an ambassador for the building and design industry. I\u2019ve been blessed with the opportunity to meet, mentor, and inspire many who are pursuing a future within the profession. My life has changed for the better due to construction. Yet, when these very individuals return \u2013 now more than ever \u2013 and share with me painful stories that have left them scarred, their ambitions battered and bruised, I can\u2019t help but to feel that I\u2019ve sold them a dream turned nightmare.<\/em><\/h4>\n<\/blockquote>\n
When a black male architecture student is presenting a project in front of his faculty and is told, \u201cIt looks like you have a gun behind your back,\u201d when a black female construction professional has her hair critiqued as \u201ctoo indigenous\u201d for the industry, when the son of an engineer, a scholastic standout possessing a resume that jumps off the page and glowing references is told, \u201cMaybe this isn\u2019t the industry for you,\u201d I\u2019m struggling mightily to make sense of it all.<\/p>\n
I choose, however, to believe in the good of this industry. I choose to advocate for an increased cultural understanding and to be a catalyst for diversity. I choose to shine a light on the issues, the unmistakable realities that people who look like me face every single day within this business, while also initiating solutions. Dialogue is necessary. But who is listening?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
By Adrian Russell ’11, Construction Management<\/strong>
\nProject Manager at Mattcon Gerneral Contractors, Inc.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"George Floyd\u2019s life was tragically stolen due to cultural bias, racial stereotypes, and overall absence of accountability for systemic racism. It would be easy for one to believe that within the fields of building and design these issues do not directly impact our industry, or if they do, that the impact is minimal. This couldn\u2019t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":169,"featured_media":784,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[197,67,4],"tags":[346,374],"class_list":["post-783","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inclusive-excellence","category-alumni","category-construction","tag-adrian-russell","tag-racial-stereotypes"],"yoast_head":"\n
Can We Talk? - Estopinal College of Architecture and Planning<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It would be easy for one to believe that within the fields of building and design racial stereotypes do not directly impact our industry, or if they do, that the impact is minimal. This couldn\u2019t be more wrong.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/cap\/2020\/07\/26\/can-we-talk\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Can We Talk? - Estopinal College of Architecture and Planning\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It would be easy for one to believe that within the fields of building and design racial stereotypes do not directly impact our industry, or if they do, that the impact is minimal. This couldn\u2019t be more wrong.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/cap\/2020\/07\/26\/can-we-talk\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Estopinal College of Architecture and Planning\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BallStateCAP\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-07-26T19:33:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-07-30T14:20:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/assets.blogs.bsu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2021\/07\/26152626\/AdrianRussell_new-e1627327710169.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"CAP\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@BallStateCAP\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@BallStateCAP\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"CAP\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bsu.edu\\\/cap\\\/2020\\\/07\\\/26\\\/can-we-talk\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bsu.edu\\\/cap\\\/2020\\\/07\\\/26\\\/can-we-talk\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"CAP\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bsu.edu\\\/cap\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4710161df6397dc3edc4e96604c0632a\"},\"headline\":\"Can We Talk?\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-07-26T19:33:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-07-30T14:20:11+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bsu.edu\\\/cap\\\/2020\\\/07\\\/26\\\/can-we-talk\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":381,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bsu.edu\\\/cap\\\/2020\\\/07\\\/26\\\/can-we-talk\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bsu-wpe-blogs.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/24\\\/2021\\\/07\\\/26152626\\\/AdrianRussell_new-e1627327710169.png\",\"keywords\":[\"Adrian Russell\",\"racial stereotypes\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Inclusive Excellence\",\"Alumni\",\"Construction Management\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bsu.edu\\\/cap\\\/2020\\\/07\\\/26\\\/can-we-talk\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bsu.edu\\\/cap\\\/2020\\\/07\\\/26\\\/can-we-talk\\\/\",\"name\":\"Can We Talk? - Estopinal College of Architecture and Planning\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bsu.edu\\\/cap\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bsu.edu\\\/cap\\\/2020\\\/07\\\/26\\\/can-we-talk\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bsu.edu\\\/cap\\\/2020\\\/07\\\/26\\\/can-we-talk\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bsu-wpe-blogs.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/24\\\/2021\\\/07\\\/26152626\\\/AdrianRussell_new-e1627327710169.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-07-26T19:33:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-07-30T14:20:11+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bsu.edu\\\/cap\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4710161df6397dc3edc4e96604c0632a\"},\"description\":\"It would be easy for one to believe that within the fields of building and design racial stereotypes do not directly impact our industry, or if they do, that the impact is minimal. This couldn\u2019t be more wrong.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bsu.edu\\\/cap\\\/2020\\\/07\\\/26\\\/can-we-talk\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bsu.edu\\\/cap\\\/2020\\\/07\\\/26\\\/can-we-talk\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bsu.edu\\\/cap\\\/2020\\\/07\\\/26\\\/can-we-talk\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bsu-wpe-blogs.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/24\\\/2021\\\/07\\\/26152626\\\/AdrianRussell_new-e1627327710169.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bsu-wpe-blogs.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/24\\\/2021\\\/07\\\/26152626\\\/AdrianRussell_new-e1627327710169.png\",\"width\":1080,\"height\":720,\"caption\":\"A smiling man with a beard wearing a grey suit jacket, grey shirt, and black tie, standing in front of a white brick wall.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bsu.edu\\\/cap\\\/2020\\\/07\\\/26\\\/can-we-talk\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bsu.edu\\\/cap\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Can We Talk?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bsu.edu\\\/cap\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bsu.edu\\\/cap\\\/\",\"name\":\"Estopinal College of Architecture and Planning\",\"description\":\"Our rigorous programs and real-world opportunities rank us among the nation\u2019s best schools. Follow our faculty and students throughout the year as they conduct research, travel, and make an impact on our surrounding communities.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bsu.edu\\\/cap\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bsu.edu\\\/cap\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4710161df6397dc3edc4e96604c0632a\",\"name\":\"CAP\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/340a589a78f2080d86fd87171e0d10960ea3cec1c41a48aa3352b22558b87bc4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/340a589a78f2080d86fd87171e0d10960ea3cec1c41a48aa3352b22558b87bc4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/340a589a78f2080d86fd87171e0d10960ea3cec1c41a48aa3352b22558b87bc4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"CAP\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bsu.edu\\\/cap\\\/author\\\/vmorris\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Can We Talk? - Estopinal College of Architecture and Planning","description":"It would be easy for one to believe that within the fields of building and design racial stereotypes do not directly impact our industry, or if they do, that the impact is minimal. This couldn\u2019t be more wrong.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/cap\/2020\/07\/26\/can-we-talk\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Can We Talk? - Estopinal College of Architecture and Planning","og_description":"It would be easy for one to believe that within the fields of building and design racial stereotypes do not directly impact our industry, or if they do, that the impact is minimal. This couldn\u2019t be more wrong.","og_url":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/cap\/2020\/07\/26\/can-we-talk\/","og_site_name":"Estopinal College of Architecture and Planning","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BallStateCAP","article_published_time":"2020-07-26T19:33:26+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-07-30T14:20:11+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1080,"height":720,"url":"https:\/\/assets.blogs.bsu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2021\/07\/26152626\/AdrianRussell_new-e1627327710169.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"CAP","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@BallStateCAP","twitter_site":"@BallStateCAP","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"CAP","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/cap\/2020\/07\/26\/can-we-talk\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/cap\/2020\/07\/26\/can-we-talk\/"},"author":{"name":"CAP","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/cap\/#\/schema\/person\/4710161df6397dc3edc4e96604c0632a"},"headline":"Can We Talk?","datePublished":"2020-07-26T19:33:26+00:00","dateModified":"2021-07-30T14:20:11+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/cap\/2020\/07\/26\/can-we-talk\/"},"wordCount":381,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/cap\/2020\/07\/26\/can-we-talk\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/bsu-wpe-blogs.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2021\/07\/26152626\/AdrianRussell_new-e1627327710169.png","keywords":["Adrian Russell","racial stereotypes"],"articleSection":["Inclusive Excellence","Alumni","Construction Management"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/cap\/2020\/07\/26\/can-we-talk\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/cap\/2020\/07\/26\/can-we-talk\/","name":"Can We Talk? - Estopinal College of Architecture and Planning","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/cap\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/cap\/2020\/07\/26\/can-we-talk\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/cap\/2020\/07\/26\/can-we-talk\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/bsu-wpe-blogs.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2021\/07\/26152626\/AdrianRussell_new-e1627327710169.png","datePublished":"2020-07-26T19:33:26+00:00","dateModified":"2021-07-30T14:20:11+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/cap\/#\/schema\/person\/4710161df6397dc3edc4e96604c0632a"},"description":"It would be easy for one to believe that within the fields of building and design racial stereotypes do not directly impact our industry, or if they do, that the impact is minimal. This couldn\u2019t be more wrong.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/cap\/2020\/07\/26\/can-we-talk\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/cap\/2020\/07\/26\/can-we-talk\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/cap\/2020\/07\/26\/can-we-talk\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/bsu-wpe-blogs.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2021\/07\/26152626\/AdrianRussell_new-e1627327710169.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/bsu-wpe-blogs.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2021\/07\/26152626\/AdrianRussell_new-e1627327710169.png","width":1080,"height":720,"caption":"A smiling man with a beard wearing a grey suit jacket, grey shirt, and black tie, standing in front of a white brick wall."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/cap\/2020\/07\/26\/can-we-talk\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/cap\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Can We Talk?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/cap\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/cap\/","name":"Estopinal College of Architecture and Planning","description":"Our rigorous programs and real-world opportunities rank us among the nation\u2019s best schools. Follow our faculty and students throughout the year as they conduct research, travel, and make an impact on our surrounding communities.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/cap\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/cap\/#\/schema\/person\/4710161df6397dc3edc4e96604c0632a","name":"CAP","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/340a589a78f2080d86fd87171e0d10960ea3cec1c41a48aa3352b22558b87bc4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/340a589a78f2080d86fd87171e0d10960ea3cec1c41a48aa3352b22558b87bc4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/340a589a78f2080d86fd87171e0d10960ea3cec1c41a48aa3352b22558b87bc4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"CAP"},"url":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/cap\/author\/vmorris\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/bsu-wpe-blogs.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2021\/07\/26152626\/AdrianRussell_new-e1627327710169.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/783","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/169"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=783"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/783\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/784"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}