The Black Family That Built America: A 5-Generation Construction Dynasty

Summary

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Earn Your Leisure: "The Black Family That Built America"

Episode Date: September 14, 2025
Guests: Cheryl McKissick Daniel (CEO & President, McKissick & McKissick)
Hosts: Rashad Bilal, Troy Millings

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Episode Overview

This episode features Cheryl McKissick Daniel, the fifth-generation CEO of McKissick & McKissick, the oldest Black- and woman-owned construction firm in the United States. The conversation traces the 230-year journey of the McKissick family, from slavery to becoming one of the most prominent construction dynasties in America. Cheryl discusses her new book, "The Black Family Who Built America," and unpacks the values, strategies, and legacy of McKissick & McKissick.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introduction to Cheryl McKissick Daniel and the McKissick Legacy

• Cheryl is recognized as a repeat guest and a notable figure at Invest Fest.
• She is now also a published author with "The Black Family Who Built America."
• The McKissick family business boasts six generations (fifth currently active) of continuous operation, making it a historic legacy in construction.

Memorable Resume Highlights

• Landmark projects: JFK International Airport Terminal 1, Barclays Center, Long Island Railroad Vanderbilt Yard, Fulton Fish Market, Mega Evers College, Harlem Hospital Patient Pavilion, and Coney Island Hospital.

  [03:00] B: "Most people frequent these places. They don't really think that's part of their portfolio."

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2. The 230-Year Family History in Construction

From Slavery to the Skyline

• Originates with Moses McKissick I, a slave who made bricks in North Carolina (1790).
• His son, Moses II, became a master carpenter before being gifted to another family as property, then moved post-emancipation to Tennessee, where the business began.
• Moses III and his brother became the first Black licensed architects in America (licenses 117 & 118 in Tennessee).
• The company passed through subsequent generations, maintaining family leadership and evolving capacity.

[05:48] C: "After it was over 200 years that Moses McKissick the first laid his first brick. And here we are 200 years later, an unshakable pillar in a country that is dealing with questions that we've answered already around equality, equity, opportunity... We proudly say, who built this? We did."

The Company as a Mirror and Beacon:

• A mirror reflecting the often overlooked role of Black professionals in American development.
• A beacon of perseverance and purpose, serving as an exemplar for opportunity and equity.

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3. Sustaining and Scaling Across Generations

• The McKissick model: family values, education, adapting without losing identity, and building both for the wider world and their own Black community.
• Their success is linked to ownership, intentionality, and lifting up others:
  • Built Black churches, colleges, and hospitals, especially in communities that faced discrimination elsewhere.
  • Forged strong networks with other Black professionals and contractors for a sturdy foundation and collective advancement.

[08:19] C: "As you grow in business, you also have to lift others up with you. If you stand by yourself, then that's a problem. You're easy to knock off. But if you bring in a strong foundation ... each other. We can all work together as a network as opposed to an individual."

• Education advanced with every generation, reinforcing business longevity and upward mobility.

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4. The 5 Ps Philosophy: Core to Generational Success

Perseverance, Preparedness, Persistence, Productivity, and Prayer

• Perseverance: Surviving adversity daily; entering spaces where Black women were rare, if present at all.
  • [10:08] C: "Perseverance is getting up every day in the face of adversity, period."
  • [10:25] C: "The first time I ever went to the New York building Congress, a sea of white men in suits, 500. And I don't think they thought I had anything to contribute."
• Persistence: Relentless pursuit of dreams regardless of obstacles.
• Productivity: Having a tangible, enduring impact—evidenced in historic buildings, universities, and hospitals.
  • [11:10] C: "We have documented the black experience in this country through our buildings, through the universities that we built, the hospitals, the schools. And so that's, to me, is productivity."
• Preparedness: Ongoing professional development and drawing on education and experience.
• Prayer/Purpose: Centering purpose and spirituality to tackle overwhelming challenges.
  • [11:53] C: "If you wake up every day with a purpose on your mind, a God given purpose, then you will achieve it."
  • [12:09] C: "Prayer is the one I added because some days that's exactly what I need. Prayer. I'm in constant contact saying, lord, let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable unto you."

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the family’s generational purpose:

  [05:48] C (Cheryl): "We stand as a mirror for America and a beacon ... We're a beacon because we are exactly what happens when perseverance meets purpose."

• On Black professionals as 'hidden figures':

  [06:12] C: "Black Americans really are like the hidden figures in this country who have contributed so much. I mean, we actually did build America."

• On scaling and community:

  [08:19] C: "As you grow in business, you also have to lift others up with you. If you stand by yourself, then that's a problem."

• On faith and business:

  [12:09] C: "Prayer. I'm in constant contact saying, lord, let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable unto you. Not to anyone else, but to you."

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:20-03:42]: Introduction of Cheryl McKissick Daniel's career and McKissick & McKissick's storied project portfolio
• [04:05-06:47]: Cheryl recounts the 230-year family history and the business's origin during slavery
• [06:47-09:14]: Strategies and values behind scaling the business across generations
• [09:14-12:38]: Deep dive into the 5 Ps and how they shaped both her leadership and the firm's legacy

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Conclusion

This conversation offers a rare, moving, and practical look inside America’s oldest Black-owned, woman-owned construction empire. Cheryl McKissick Daniel shares not only her family’s hidden history but also deeply relevant lessons on perseverance, ownership, network-building, and faith. It’s a testament to the unacknowledged builders of America and a blueprint for anyone seeking to build generational legacy in any field.

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Transcript

[A]

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[B]

All right, so we have Cheryl McKissick. Daniel. And we actually interviewed Cheryl probably like two years ago for Earn your Leisure. She's been in Invest Fest twice recently. She was at Invest Fest this year and just has a new book that came out. Congratulations.

[A]

Congrats. Congrats. First and foremost, the black family who built America. Hey, that's a great title. Yeah, yeah.

[B]

So if you're not, if you're not familiar. So Cheryl is the CEO and president of McKissick and McKissick and it's the oldest black owned and woman owned construction firm in the United States. Six generations, right?

[C]

You're calling that into existence. In existence. Because there is a sixth generation that I'm working on.

[B]

Okay, so five generations.

[C]

Yeah, I'm fifth. Yes.

[B]

So five, five, five generations. And they kind of give you some perspective of some, some of the Work that she's done. John F. Kennedy International Airport, might have heard of it. Terminal 1, the new Terminal 1. JFK. Beautiful, beautiful. Barclays center and Atlantic Yards, Pacific park, including Long Island Railroad, Vanderbilt Yard, relocation, Fulton Fish Market, Mega Evers College, Harlem Hospitals, new Patient Pavilion, Coney Island Hospital, campus renovation. I mean, very, very impressive resume.

[A]

I don't know too many resumes that sound like that for sure. I mean, most people frequent these places. They don't really think that's part of their portfolio. So kudos to you.

[B]

So, you know, we're going to talk about your book. We definitely have to talk about, you know, construction. Today's economy challenges different ways to get in. But first, for the people that may not be totally familiar, can you give us the history of your family in construction dating back, I believe it started even during slavery.

[C]

Right, right. We go back 230 years to 1790, when the first descendant of our family came to this country. His name was Moses McKissick the First, and he was taught the trade of making bricks. He was in North Carolina as a slave. His son, Moses McKissick II, was a master carpenter and a master builder. And he also was in North Carolina until the slave master gave him away as a wedding gift to the Maxwell family, who lived in Spring Hill, Tennessee. And that's how we got to Tennessee. And then shortly after emancipation, he moved to Pulaski, Tennessee, and that's where he. Our first company started, which was McKissick Contractors, and that was Moses McKissick II. His son, Moses McKissick III, is my grandfather. And he and his brother became the first black licensed architects in America with license 117 and 118 in the state of Tennessee. And they worked all through the south and the Northeast. And then the company was passed down to my father, who was William D. Barry McKissick, another architect. And when he became ill, my mother took over. And now I run the. So I am fifth generation in this company. And I have to say, after it was over 200 years that Moses McKissick the first laid his first brick. And Here we are 200 years later, an unshakable pillar in a country that is dealing with questions that we've answered already around equality, equity, opportunity. And I feel that the McKissick and I write about this in my book. We stand as a mirror for America and a beacon, a mirror saying black professionals. We've been around for so many years, but yet we've been ignored. You just said, who built this well, we did. We're a beacon because we are exactly what happens when perseverance meets purpose. And so all of this is in my book, the Black Family who Built America. And so that's our tagline. We proudly say, who built this? We did. Because black Americans really are like the hidden figures in this country who have contributed so much. I mean, we actually did build America.

[B]

And then talk about. Just follow up on that, because that's. How are you able to scale the company from starting during slavery to doing JFK Airport? Like that's important too. Like, talk about that scale as one thing to have a generational business, but it's another thing to have a generational business that's actually growing over the course of time.

[C]

Yes. So, you know, when I think about it, how we were able to sustain slavery, Jim Crow, prejudice in the deep, deep south, and to be able to do that over a span of 200 years, I think about the fact that, number one, ownership was important to our family. So just being able to have ownership, and that's what I love about what you guys are doing at Invest Fest. I meet so many people who want to be owners in their own lane of something, and I think that's paramount when you're trying to create a legacy. Also, I think we adapted, but we didn't lose our identity. We always made sure we provided excellent work and in the perspective and in the area that we were supposed to. But at the same time, we came home to our black community and took care of our black community. We built black churches. We built colleges and universities. And so these are some of the tenets that I think that are extremely important. As you grow in business, you also have to lift others up with you. If you stand by yourself, then that's a problem. You're easy to knock off. But if you bring in a strong foundation, which is what we try to do, other contractors, subcontractors, architects, engineers, then we have a base from which we can draw upon and each other. We can all work together as a network as opposed to an individual. I think that is extremely important in education. Education is key. With each generation of the McKissicks, the education and the knowledge grew. And that was also a sustaining factor for our business.

[A]

This is incredible. I want to get this right. So you credit your family success with the five Ps, right? Perseverance, preparedness, persistence, productivity, and prayer. Talk about how those show themselves throughout generation to generation and how you implemented it to. I mean, the valuation is probably starting with a B at this point. How, how has that prepared you and gotten you to this point?

[C]

Well, the projects are at a B.

[A]

Okay?

[C]

That's for sure. You know, perseverance is getting up every day in the face of adversity, period. I can't tell you the number of rooms I've walked into as the only female and definitely the only black female. And I talk about this all the time. The first time I ever went to the New York building Congress, a sea of white men in suits, 500. And I don't think they thought I had anything to contribute. They were like, who is this lady? I don't even think they noticed me. I thought to myself, well, how am I going to make it in New York City if these are the people that I have to generate revenue from? And so persistence is getting up every day saying, I am going to live my dream and I'm not going to let anything stop me. And I think the McKissick have done that in every generation. Productivity means just that, you have actually produced value. And we have done that. I feel that we have documented the black experience in this country through our buildings, through the universities that we built, the hospitals, the schools. And so that's, to me, is productivity. The other one is preparedness. We talked about education, drawing up on your own experiences and becoming a better professional with every day. You know, professional development. And you guys deal a lot in all of this with invest fest and it's all true. And the other, I forgot, what's the fourth one?

[A]

Well, we got prayer still and we got preparedness idea.

[C]

Preparedness, productivity, perseverance, persistence. I switched that one out a lot and say purpose because now I say, you know, if you wake up every day with a purpose on your mind, a God given purpose, then you will achieve it. Now, prayer is the one I added because some days that's exactly what I need. Prayer. I'm in constant contact saying, lord, let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable unto you. Not to anyone else, but to you. And if I do that, then I know I've accomplished what I've needed to accomplish for the day. And so Those are the five Ps, and they have shown up everywhere in the McKissick legacy. And with each generation, got an idea for an app.

[D]

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