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The Black Family Who Built America
The McKissacks, Two Centuries of Daring Pioneers
With Nick Chiles
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Table of Contents
About The Book
A Scientific American Favorite Book of 2025
The riveting story of the McKissack family—the founders of the leading Black design and construction firm in the United States, from its beginnings in the mid-1800s to its thriving status today—in a moving celebration of resilience and innovation.
Captured in his native West Africa and enslaved on American shores by a North Carolina plantation owner, Moses McKissack I began to build his way to emancipation right from the start. Becoming an enslaved craftsman, he picked up the trade his family would become famous for in the earliest years of the 19th century, passing his learnings down to his children and seeing them off to freedom after the Civil War.
The family would settle in Tennessee, getting its bearings in the building trades despite rampant discrimination, establishing a foothold that now sees its latest generations working at the absolute peak of its industry.
The family’s fingerprints have been left all across the United States, spanning from Reconstruction to contemporary times, through projects like the Morris Memorial Building, Capers C.M.E. Church, John F. Kennedy International Airport, and Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field.
Here, Cheryl McKissack Daniel, CEO and president of McKissack & McKissack, reveals the full fascinating story of her family. So much more than an exploration of architectural achievements, The Black Family Who Built America is also a compelling illustration of how history rhymes and reverberates, and a celebration of the human spirit’s ability to overcome adversity and drive change. From Moses’s humble beginnings to Cheryl’s current role as a trailblazer and champion of diversity, the family’s journey underscores the importance of perseverance, innovation, and strategic vision in shaping a legacy that continues to inspire and impact the construction industry.
The riveting story of the McKissack family—the founders of the leading Black design and construction firm in the United States, from its beginnings in the mid-1800s to its thriving status today—in a moving celebration of resilience and innovation.
Captured in his native West Africa and enslaved on American shores by a North Carolina plantation owner, Moses McKissack I began to build his way to emancipation right from the start. Becoming an enslaved craftsman, he picked up the trade his family would become famous for in the earliest years of the 19th century, passing his learnings down to his children and seeing them off to freedom after the Civil War.
The family would settle in Tennessee, getting its bearings in the building trades despite rampant discrimination, establishing a foothold that now sees its latest generations working at the absolute peak of its industry.
The family’s fingerprints have been left all across the United States, spanning from Reconstruction to contemporary times, through projects like the Morris Memorial Building, Capers C.M.E. Church, John F. Kennedy International Airport, and Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field.
Here, Cheryl McKissack Daniel, CEO and president of McKissack & McKissack, reveals the full fascinating story of her family. So much more than an exploration of architectural achievements, The Black Family Who Built America is also a compelling illustration of how history rhymes and reverberates, and a celebration of the human spirit’s ability to overcome adversity and drive change. From Moses’s humble beginnings to Cheryl’s current role as a trailblazer and champion of diversity, the family’s journey underscores the importance of perseverance, innovation, and strategic vision in shaping a legacy that continues to inspire and impact the construction industry.
About The Author
Dewayne Richards
Cheryl McKissack Daniel is the award-winning president and CEO of McKissack & McKissack. She serves as principal-in-charge and project executive on numerous high-profile projects, including major work in the commercial, healthcare, education, and transportation sectors. She serves on numerous, corporate, charitable, and community boards, and has been honored as a “Hero of Liberty” for her support of humanitarian initiatives and for promoting the responsibilities of a free and diverse America. Born in Nashville to architect William DeBerry and teacher Leatrice Buchanan McKissack, Cheryl represents the fifth generation of the McKissack family’s century-old business, the oldest minority and woman-owned professional design and construction firm in the nation. Find out more at McKissack.com.
Product Details
- Publisher: Atria/Black Privilege Publishing (August 12, 2025)
- Length: 288 pages
- ISBN13: 9781668034019
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Raves and Reviews
“A foundation of expertise and excellence first laid 200 years ago continues to shape a Black family’s groundbreaking legacy in this tenacious debut memoir from Daniels, president of McKissack & McKissack, America’s oldest minority-owned construction firm.The result shines best as a candid career guide for Black professionals.”
—Publishers Weekly
“A well-crafted story of intergenerational striving on the path from cruelty to commerce.”
—Kirkus Reviews
"This book makes clear that the McKissack family should be mentioned in the same conversation with those prestigious last names so often heralded as models for what we call the American Dream. Cheryl McKissack Daniel’s powerful storytelling exposes a hard truth: in America, generations of hard work and earned credentials are still too often overshadowed by the color of one’s skin and gender identity. This book could not be more timely."
—Derrick Johnson, President and CEO of the NAACP
"This stellar offering is an unshakable monument to faith, fortitude, and family. The Black Family Who Built America doesn’t just document history—it delivers mission fuel for anyone who has ever felt overwhelmed, overlooked, or on the verge of giving up."
—Susan L. Taylor, Founder and CEO of the National CARES Mentoring Movement and Editor-in-Chief Emerita, Essence Magazine
“This extraordinary celebration of Black excellence, resilience, and innovation is a powerful reminder that Black history is American history. The McKissacks’ story—from a family of architects, engineers, and entrepreneurs—rewrites the narrative of who built this country and how. A blueprint for breaking barriers and building dreams.”
—Charlamagne tha God, New York Times bestselling author of Black Privilege and Get Honest or Die Lying
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