“The main purpose of planning is to see where we are going in terms of where we have been, and then to assist in changing the direction toward where we want to go.” – Samuel J. Cullers
Samuel J. Cullers was born on June 16, 1918, in Chicago, Illinois, and earned a Master’s degree in City and Regional Planning from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1952. His resume includes working as a Planner in serval North American and international cities. Other positions of his include Deputy Director of Redevelopment for Hartford, Connecticut, Chief of Urban Planning for the State of California, and Acting Director for the CA State Office of Planning. Cullers also started his own planning firm in 1972.
Cullers is known as the first Black “professionally trained” urban planner in the United States. In addition to his planning career, throughout his life, Cullers advocated for further inclusion and representation in the planning and development process. As an advocate for equity, he filed a Civil Rights housing discrimination lawsuit and sought to end housing discrimination. Samuel J. Cullers died on September 28, 2005, at the age of 87.
The City of Raleigh Planning and Development Department celebrate the achievements of Cullers as his work continues today. Cullers lives through the department’s commitment to ensuring that education, work, and recreation opportunities are created and catered for in the City of Raleigh, building a brighter future for the communities we serve.
Sources
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oYxrByS5O3OY5xsIdGhoq_lt6sUzA9Or/view
https://commons.trincoll.edu/cssp/2013/12/11/samuel-cullers-housing-discrimination-case-1954-1957-2/
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/11855798/samuel-j_-cullers
https://www.planning.org/planning/2021/winter/11-black-urbanists-every-planner-should-know/
https://blackcommunity.planning.org/knowledge-center/