Supply Chain Equity

The ongoing legacy of chattel slavery and the persistence of modern slavery weigh on the architecture, construction, and engineering industries, from material supply chains to jobsites. A course on slavery in the built environment, taught simultaneously at Yale and University of Michigan, with support from the Yale Law School and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, invites students to reckon with these challenges. While the professions recognize the necessity of this work, the inertial weight of current practice and systems have sidelined early efforts to confront slavery in contemporary society. Yet the momentum for change continues. Disclosure legislation in the United Kingdom and Australia is being supplemented by EU-level human-rights due-diligence responsibilities around forced labor. Stepped-up U.S. customs enforcement preventing the entry of tainted goods puts “just-in-time” sourcing at risk. Architecture and law students—along with colleagues from environmental, social work, business, and policy programs—seek connections to justice and exploitation-free practice. Building on this momentum, this symposium, organized by Phil Bernstein and Lou C.deBaca, invites participants to work across disciplinary lines, harness expertise, and seek pathbreaking solutions together.   

Participants will include Sheela Ahluwalia, Greg Asbed, Luis C.deBaca, Suzanne Balson, Phillip Bernstein, David Blight, Ted Brady, Bridgette Carr, Jordan H. Carver, Austin Choi-Fitzpatrick, Billie Faircloth, Seth Guikema, Kayleigh Houde, Alicia Ley, Shawn MacDonald, Chavi Keeney Nana, Randy Newcombe, Alan Organschi, Jacob Reidel, Amy O’Neill Richard, Nora Rizzo, and Ryan Welch. 

Supply Chain Equity is jointly organized by the Yale School of Architecture and the University of Michigan Law School. 

Supply Chain Equity is supported by the J. Irwin Miller Endowment, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, and the Gordon H. Smith Lectureship in Practical Architecture Fund.

Please register at the link on the event page for in-person and livestream attendance.