BlackSpace Oklahoma

BlackSpace Oklahoma is a non-profit 501(c) 3 with a mission to create, develop, and support Black communities and professionals entering the fields of city planning, architecture, and design. BSO envisions Black communities in which social and spatial change is encouraged, hope is fostered, and the pipeline to the professions of city planning, architecture, and design is broadened. Through the founding goals and objectives BSO plans to both strategically and tangibly extend the world of planning, architecture, design, and community organizing work by:

1. Developing a multidisciplinary support network for community professionals;
2. Creating access to education centric to city planning, architecture, and design;
3. Developing resources to consult, support, and create opportunities for Black voices and action in local communities, and;
4. Starting a repository for the celebration and preservation of local, Black contributions.

OU and Blackspace have collaborated through service-learning courses to develop public policy.  In March 2019, OU students from the College of Architecture worked with BlackSpace during a community storytelling workshop and public forum.