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Norma Merrick Sklarek[edit]
Norma Merrick Sklarek (April 15, 1928–February 6, 2012) is the first African American woman architect in United States history. She is also one of the only two women with a bachelor's degree in architecture. After graduating from Columbia University's architecture program, Sklarek passed her architectural licensing exam in New York in 1954 and California's licensing exam in 1962. [1] she became the first African American woman architect in the United States. She is also the first woman in American History to be elected as a fellow in the American Institute of Architects (AIA). After getting the Architectural license, Sklarek first worked for Skidmore, Owens, and Merrill (SOM), then she worked in the Gruen Associate for over 20 years. She became the first African American woman director of Architecture at Gruen Associate. Her notable architectural projects are American Embassy in Tokyo (1976) and Los Angeles International Airport Terminal 1 (1984).

In the 1950s, there were not many woman architects, and the architecture industry was dominated by white and male. Thus, Sklarek was being discriminated against for her gender and race. Sklarek failed to find an architectural position after her graduation. Even though she got a job later, she was not allowed to say herself as an architectural designer in front of her clients. Marshall Purnell, the former president of AIA, said that " She is an excellent architect capable of doing any project. However, she was not allowed to express herself as an architect in front of clients." [2]Most clients could not trust an African American woman architect to design their projects. Thus, Sklarek was doing project management most of the time instead of designing. According to her interview at California Architect magazines, Skarek said she was treated differently from her male co-workers. For example, she is a highly visible employee compared to her male co-workers.

[1] Angela Black, “Sklarek, Norma Merrick,” Oxford African American studies center, May 31, 2013, https://oxfordaasc-com.proxy.library.upenn.edu/view/10.1093/acref/9780195301731.001.0001/acref-9780195301731-e-37869.

[2] “Pioneering African American Architect,” Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles Times, February 10, 2012), https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2012-feb-10-la-me-norma-sklarek-20120210-story.html.