One of David Adjaye’s favorite words is “sankofa,” which loosely translates to “go back and get it.” The architect loves that word because he instills the meaning into his artwork frequently.
Born in Tanzania, raised in Britain, and working in America, Adjaye has been able to experience different cultures around the world. He uses those experiences along with his knowledge to help create museums that display history in a way the future can benefit.
"Institutions are built on the Western-European narratives, the colonial narrative, that works to erase whoever exists outside of them. You have to take this education and root it in your own history,” he once said. Adjaye over time has fought to challenge those narratives, and has been able to build monuments that display Black culture more accurately, while also allowing us to be better represented in the future.
The architect once said “I believe it is better to try to achieve momentum and change by getting involved rather than by standing on the sidelines.” By being the lead architect for the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and many other monuments surrounding Black culture, he’s helped do that.
Adjaye showed that our history can be used to build our future. Doing so benefits our legacy now and helps benefit future generations. When we build like this just imagine what we can accomplish.