Norma Merick Sklarek, known as “The Rosa Parks of Architecture” was born in Harlem, New York City in 1926. She was the first African American woman to become an architect, and overcame numerous challenges in her career. From her early life, she attended predominantly white schools, where she had demonstrated great strength in math, science, and the fine arts. She later attended the School of Architecture at Columbia University, gaining admission through the minimum one year of liberal arts education as a prerequisite (Morton).
In her higher education, Skarlek faced hardships but rose above such challenges with great tenacity. Her classmates were veterans of World War II and had bachelor’s or masters degrees, in conjunction to ostracizing her from the rest of her cohort by excluding her from group collaboration. She balanced commuting and working independently on her work, which as a former architecture student, I can attest to the soul-crushing work that architecture school entails. Skarlek shared that “the competition was keen. But I had a stick-to-it attitude and never gave up.” (Travis). Despite such challenges, she graduated from Columbia in 1950. She was the only African American in her class, and only one of two graduating women (Woo).
Upon her graduation, she was refused from many firms. She reported in 2004 that “they weren’t hiring women or African Americans, and I didn’t know which it was [working against me]” (Woo). Underappreciated as a junior draftsperson in the City of New York’s Department of Public Works, she took the architecture examination, passing on her first try in 1954. She became the first African American woman in New York to become a licensed architect (Morton). Her skill and talent was recognized by world-renowned architecture firm, Skidmore, Owings & Merill (SOM), and was hired there within a year of earning her license. In addition, she took on a second job at the New York City Community College in order to support her family (Morton). Marshall Purnell, past president of the American Instutute of Architects said that “she was mentally the strongest person I knew in the profession because of what she went through. Yet she was also one of the most pleasant people.” (Woo). Her perseverance in the face of a world that only offered her obstacles should inspire us all to see our own privilege in our work, and know that we also have the strength to push through any challenge we face.
Works Cited
Morton, Patricia. “Norma Merrick Sklarek.” Pioneering Women of American Architecture, pioneeringwomen.bwaf.org/norma-merrick-sklarek/.
Travis, Jack. African American Architects in Current Practice. Princeton Architectural Press, 1991.
Woo, Elaine. “Pioneering African American Architect.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 10 Feb. 2012, www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2012-feb-10-la-me-norma-sklarek-20120210-story.html.
