The McKissack Family: Two Centuries of Black Architects and Builders in America

The McKissack Family Legacy

• 💡 The McKissack family's story, chronicled in "The Black Family Who Built America," highlights centuries of Black Americans' contributions to architecture and design, which have often been overlooked.
• 🔑 The family's legacy begins with Moses McKissack, who was enslaved in North Carolina in 1790 and taught the trade of brickmaking.
• 🏗️ His son, Moses McKissack II, was a carpenter and master builder who started the family business in Pulaski, Tennessee, after emancipation.

Overcoming Discrimination and Shifting Clientele

• ⚠️ In the early days, the McKissacks faced discrimination, with white patrons initially helping Black entrepreneurs, but later viewing them as a threat.
• ⛪ This led the McKissacks to shift their clientele to Black communities, focusing on building churches and historically Black colleges.

Cheryl McKissack Daniel's Leadership

• 🚀 Cheryl McKissack Daniel, a descendant, faced barriers as an anomaly in the beginning of minority and women-owned business programs, with assumptions about her capabilities.
• 🛠️ Drawing on her family's long history of builders and architects, she proved these myths wrong and led the company to significant achievements.

Notable Projects and Divisions

• 🏟️ The Berkeley Arena project was a major milestone, catapulting the company into the transportation and rail business.
• ✈️ The family firm has also undertaken extensive work at New York City airports, including the new terminal one at JFK, a nearly 3 million square foot state-of-the-art facility.
• 🏥 Other significant projects include work for Columbia University's Manhattanville campus, the Coney Island Hospital, and the Harlem Hospital.

Future Hopes for Black Entrepreneurs

• 📈 Cheryl McKissack Daniel emphasizes the importance of ownership for Black businesses to empower communities and create generational wealth.
• 🤝 She points to projects like JFK Terminal 1, where ownership by figures like Magic Johnson and Jim Reynolds led to a greater focus on minority and women-owned business participation.
• 🌟 The book aims to inspire readers by showing that everyone can have a legacy and underscores the importance of documenting family history and origins.