The Black Family Who Built America: The McKissacks, Two Centuries of Daring Pioneers
The Black Family Who Built America is the story of the indomitable McKissack family whose construction business began in slavery and rose to prominence constructing churches, university buildings, sports stadiums and other major building projects across the country.
At a time in America when issues of equality and diversity have generated such anger and division, the McKissacks’ story of thriving and growing despite the numerous barriers they faced also reveals that racism has never gone away.
In a work as much autobiography as family history, the author details growing up in Nashville in an affluent Black neighborhood, describing how her parents built their business first within their own Black community and then against the old-boy network of construction corporations who preferred working with white-only companies. She moves on to New York and chronicles a world of bigotry, corruption, and selfish politicking. Her path, and that of her company, is blocked by minefields intended to make it impossible for a female-led minority business to succeed. And yet, she and her business did. This book illustrates the continuing battle in America for an equal playing field for minorities trying to establish themselves in a fair competitive society.
As a history of the ongoing and unfinished battle against white impediment to equality, this book gets right to the root. The mystery is why the author does not do the same with her own family for whom, in the end, she seems to express only disappointment that they will not pick up the fight.
