Black History:  Special Delivery!!

 

Cheryl McKissack (L), Leatrice McKissick (C), and Deryl McKissack (R)

McKissack & McKissack is the oldest black-owned architecture, construction, and engineering company in the U.S.  The company was started in 1905 by brothers Moses McKissack III (l879-1952) and Calvin Lunsford McKissack (1890-1968).  Their knowledge of the construction trade was passed down from their father (Gabriel Moses II) and enslaved grandfather (Moses McKissack I).  Calvin and Moses III were educated at Pulaski Colored High School and attended Fisk University, a historically black college. They started the company in Pulaski, TN, and then relocated the business to Nashville, TN. 

State requirements for architects changed in 1922, requiring all architects to be licensed and registered.  The McKissack brothers took correspondence courses and obtained architectural degrees to meet the licensing requirements.  When the brothers passed the state licensing exam in 1922, they were some of the state’s first registered architects.  Some of their most well known projects were several public schools in the 1930’s and the Tennessee State University Library in 1927. McKissack & McKissack architects was awarded its largest contract in 1942, a $5-$7 million contract with the U.S. government to design and build Tuskegee Army Airfield.  The airfield was the training site for the Tuskegee Airmen.  The firm attend greater notoriety as a result of this project and by 1945 were licensed to work in Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, and Mississippi. 

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