History Apa's Planning And The Black Community Division:
The Struggle For Fairness In Planning

William M. Harris, AICP and Rodney G. Proctor
Copyright 1997 Harris and Proctor

Need For The Division

The African American professional planning community of practitioners and scholars has long valued the need for fairness in public and private decision making. Observing the lack of representation of African Americans on the board of directors, existing divisions, and committees, American Planning Association members Rodney G. Proctor and William M. Harris moved to create the Planning and the Black Community Division in 1980. It was not an issue of intent, institutional racism existed in the association by the reality of benign neglect and omission of the value and contributions of African American planners. The founders knew the importance of making it possible for black planners to influence decision making in the association, advocate for fair, competent planning practices in the African American community, and expand the education of black planners through the academic and continuing professional education mediums.

Mission Of The Division

The Planning and the Black Community Division serves to provide a forum for discussion, research, and action by African American planners, citizens, and students. The Division offers an opportunity for other divisions of the APA to work cooperatively in meeting the needs of oppressed communities in this country and internationally. Planners seek to influence the future development of cities through public policy initiatives, public education, and advocacy intervention. These are the tenets of the Division--serving the African American community through competent, fair planning practices. Especially has the Division been committed to the education and training of blacks who seek careers in planning or who aspire to expand their professional status. It is finally, the African American community, its youths and elderly, students and scholars, workers and poor, and decision makers and difficult to reach that the Division is designed to respond.

Formation and Early Experiences

In 1973-74, when Rodney Proctor and William Harris were graduate students at the University of Washington, there were three national planning organizations of note. ASPO (American Society of Planning Officials) included planning directors, local zoning officials and board members, planning commissioners, and citizens. Services were oriented to the "practical" application of planning principles at primarily the local level. A large number of minorities held membership in this diverse organization. The ASPO board (about 25 members) had a minimum number of seats for minorities and women.

AIP (American Institute of Planners) was mostly made up of professional planners. Full membership was limited to those who met certain test criteria. The group was nearly all white and mostly male. Perhaps less than one percent was minority. Its board was relatively small (about 10-15 seats) and had no minority representation.

NAP (National Association of Planners) was a small national group consisting mostly of African American planners. While the group had modest influence in national policy making and decisions, little influence with ASPO and virtually none with AIP, it had no real support services or staff. The organization was successful under the leadership of UCLA Professor Eugene Grigsby whose institution allowed him to employ some resources to support NAP.

Following intense discussions in 1976-78 to merge or consolidate ASPO and AIP, the APA (American Planning Association) was formed. A subgroup of professional planners was affiliated and became known as the AICP (American Institute of Certified Planners). Its initial year saw a board made up of 28 members. The new organization included chapters and divisions.

An early struggle in the new organization was waged by minorities to gain representation on the board. Rodney Proctor and William Harris moved to advocate for a new division out of which was formed the Planning and the Black Community Division. This effort received some support from women who wanted a division and a group interested in establishing an international division. After all conditions for the formation of a division were met, the APA board approved the formation of the Division in October 1980 during the Cincinnati national conference.

Administration and Success of the Division

There have been a number of presidents of the Division over the years. Each has been faced with a set of challenges that relate to maintaining and expanding membership, acquiring and sustaining recognition and support from the APA board, marshaling resources from sponsors, educating the African American community about planning issues, and participating in the effort to expand the state of art in planning and its practitioners in serving the African American community.

Historically, the Division has been confronted with three persistent issues. These include fluctuating membership levels, inadequate scholarship support for African American students, and low level participation by non-planner members of the Black community. The membership participation level owes to the modest number of African Americans in the planning practice community and the general low registration of APA members in the various divisions. Not unlike the broader community experience of African Americans, financial support has been a struggle for the Division. Constant need for additional academic support has contributed to the failure of the Division to expand the number of young African Americans pursuing degrees in planning. The Division has failed as has APA in attracting a broad spectrum of community people who are affected by planning decisions but do not practice the profession.

The Division has had a number of important successes over the years. Three such achievements are representative of the positive impact it has had on APA and the larger planning community. These impacts include cooperative arrangements with other divisions, building African American leadership within APA, and expanding the visibility of APA in the Black community. The Division has worked cooperatively from its creation with other divisions and community organizations to sponsor highly productive, well attended sessions at APA national meetings. Chapter groups of the Division continue to hold meetings to discuss substantive issues including housing, transportation, higher education, and environmental justice. Activities have been shared with the divisions specializing in issues of women, economic development, international affairs, and housing. Perhaps the most salient intra-organizational success of the Division has been its mentorship and nurturing of African American leaders for positions within the APA. Black APA board members have always had very close affiliation with the Division. An oddity is the nearly invisibility of the APA in the greater African American community. APA has not been to the eyes of Black people a clear advocate for public policy that favorably impacts the African American community. The Division has done much to improve the image of APA through close cooperation with Black community groups in national meeting planning and programs.

The past and current presidents of the Division include:
Rodney C. Proctor (1980-82)
Stephaine Williams (1982-88)
Vanessa Akins (1988-92)
David Long (1992-96)
Gladys Inman (1996 - )