By Sandra K. Yocum
Before the Civil War, blacks learned the building trade
to benefit their owners, but after the Civil War, they passed their skills to
their children and these budding architects would eventually attend school and
lead the way for other black architects.
Robert R. Taylor (1868 – 1942), Getty Image
One of these pioneer architects, Robert
R. Taylor (1868 – 1942), became the first accredited black architect
and a graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1892. Booker
T. Washington recruited him to establish the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama.
Later, the school of architecture would be named the Robert R. Taylor School of
Architecture and Construction Science (TSACS).
Other architects would follow such as Wallace A.
Rayfield (1873 – 1941), Moses McKissack III (1879 –
1952), and Julian Abel (1881 – 1950). Many of these architects
did not sign their work and did not receive credit for their efforts.
Julian Abel (1881-1950), Getty Image
Julian
Abel was not given credit in his lifetime for the beautiful works of
art on the Duke University campus such as the gothic Duke University Chapel. At
the time he designed these buildings for the campus, Duke was a whites-only
university. It would be the 1980s until Abel was given credit
for his work at Duke University and in 2016, Duke named a campus quad after
him.
Rayfield was the second formally trained black architect
and his buildings played an essential role in the Civil Rights Movement; his 16th Street
Baptist Church (completed in 1911) was the site of the 1963 bomb that killed
four black teenage girls.
McKissack III established one of the
earliest black-architecture firms in the U.S., today the firm, McKissack &
McKissack managed the building of the National Museum of African American
History and Culture in Washington D.C.
Norma Merrick Sklarek (1928 -2012), Getty Image
Norma Merrick Sklarek (1928
-2012) called the “Rosa Parks of architecture,” was one of the first black
women in architecture; she co-founded one of the first women-architectural
firms, Siegel-Sklarek-Diamond in 1985, with two other women-architects, Margot
Siegel (1925 – ) and Katherine Diamond (1954 –).
Paul R. Williams (1894
– 1980), Getty Image
The twentieth century would include Paul R.
Williams (1894 – 1980), the architect of the stars as well as
designing the LAX Theme Building, and a significant architect for the city of
Long Beach, California. Click here to view a video about Williams.
Marshall Purnell (1950-), Getty Image
J. Max Bond ( 1935 – 2009) who was
also involved with the National Museum of African American History and Culture;
and Marshall Purnell(1950 – ) considered one of the most
accomplished architects in United States today with projects that include
Washington Convention Center, Washington Nationals Baseball Park, Washington
NBA and NHL Venue Verizon Center, and the National Martin Luther King Memorial.
In 1930, there were only 60 registered black architects,
but today, there are more than 2,278.
About
the author: Sandra K. Yocum is the Founder/President of the Yocum
African-American History Association (YAAHA) that is dedicated to the restoration
and preservation of the events which shaped the lives and contributions of
African-Americans. Information can be found at: www.itsmorningagain.com
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Other Articles by Sandra K. Yocum:
