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

In this insightful clip from Market Mondays, we are joined by Cheryl McKissick, the trailblazing CEO and President of McKissick & McKissick—the oldest Black-owned and woman-owned construction firm in the United States, with a legacy spanning over 230 years and five inspiring generations.

Hosts Rashad Bilal and Troy Millings sit down with Cheryl to discuss her new book, *The Black Family Who Built America*, and the extraordinary history of her family's achievements. From their origins during slavery when Moses McKissick I perfected the art of brickmaking in North Carolina, to becoming master carpenters, architects, and builders responsible for iconic projects like JFK Airport’s Terminal 1, Barclays Center, and Harlem Hospital, Cheryl's family has been a cornerstone in shaping America’s built environment.

Cheryl shares how her family navigated and thrived through slavery, Jim Crow, and systemic prejudice—all while maintaining ownership, uplifting their community, prioritizing education, and never losing sight of their identity. She highlights the five principles, or "5 Ps," that have guided their success across generations: perseverance, preparedness, persistence, productivity, and prayer. These principles have not only fueled monumental growth but have also helped the McKissicks uplift other contractors, architects, and engineers along the way.

Learn how Cheryl scaled the business from its earliest days into an industry leader overseeing projects with billion-dollar valuations. She also sheds light on the importance of building networks, creating legacy, and standing as a beacon and mirror for Black professionals across America. Cheryl’s story is a testament to what can happen “when perseverance meets purpose,” and is filled with lessons for anyone looking to create generational wealth, own their story, and lead with impact.

If you’re interested in entrepreneurship, generational wealth, Black excellence in business, and the hidden figures who truly built America—this clip is a must-watch.

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#MarketMondays #CherylMcKissick #BlackFamilyWhoBuiltAmerica #GenerationalWealth #LegacyBuilding #BlackExcellence #ConstructionIndustry #BusinessLeadership #HiddenFigures #Entrepreneurship

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
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Speaker 3 (01:51):
All right, So we have Cheryl mckizick Daniel and we
actually interviewed Cheryl probably like two years ago for earning
a Leisia. She's been invest Fest twice recently. She was
an invest Fest this year and just has a new
book that came out. Congratulations, congrats, congrats first and foremost.

Speaker 2 (02:13):
The Black Family who Built America. Hey, that's a great title.

Speaker 3 (02:17):
Yeah, yeah, So if you're not if you're not familiar,
So Cheryl is the CEO and president of mckiswick and McKissick,
and it's the oldest black owned and women owned construction
firm in the United States. Six generations.

Speaker 4 (02:37):
You're calling that into uh existence, in existence, because there
is a sixth generation that.

Speaker 5 (02:44):
I'm working on.

Speaker 2 (02:46):
So five generations.

Speaker 5 (02:48):
Yeah, I'm fifth, yes, so five five.

Speaker 3 (02:51):
Five generations, And they kind of give you some perspective
of some some of the work that she's done. John F.
Kennedy into the National Airport Terminal one, the new Terminal
one JFK Beautiful Beautiful, Barclay Center, and Atlantic Yards, Pacific
Park including Long Island Railroad, Vanderbilt Yard relocation, Faulton Fish Market,

(03:18):
Mega Evers College, Harlem Hospitals, new Patient Pavilion, Coney Island
Hospital Campus renovation.

Speaker 2 (03:27):
Uh, I mean, very very impressive residmes. I don't know
too many resumes that sound like that for sure.

Speaker 1 (03:37):
I mean most people frequent these places, they don't really
think that's part of their portfolios.

Speaker 3 (03:41):
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

(04:02):
back I believe it started even during slavery, right right.

Speaker 4 (04:07):
We go back two hundred and thirty years to seventeen
ninety when the first descendant of our family came to
this country.

Speaker 5 (04:14):
His name was Moses mckizwick the.

Speaker 4 (04:16):
First, and he was taught the trade of making bricks.
He was in North Carolina as a slave. His son,
Moses mckiswick the second, 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

(04:38):
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 mckisick Contractors, and
that was Moses mckiswick the second. His son, Moses mcizick

(05:00):
the third is my grandfather, and he and his brother
became the first black licensed architects in America with licensed
one seventeen and won eighteen 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.

Speaker 5 (05:20):
It was William D.

Speaker 4 (05:21):
Berry mcizick, another architect, and when he became ill, my
mother took over and now I run the company.

Speaker 5 (05:28):
So I am fifth generation in this company. And I
have to say after.

Speaker 4 (05:36):
It was over two hundred years and Moses mcizock the
first laid his first brick, and here we are two
hundred years later, an unshakable pillar in a country that
is dealing with questions that we've answered already around equality, equity, opportunity.

(05:59):
And I feel that the mcisic and I write about
this in my book. We stand as a.

Speaker 5 (06:04):
Mirror for America and a beacon.

Speaker 4 (06:07):
A mirror is saying, you know, black professionals, we've been
around for so.

Speaker 5 (06:11):
Many years, but yet we've been ignored. You just said,
who built this? Well, we did, and.

Speaker 4 (06:19):
We're a beacon because we are exactly what happens when
perseverance meets purpose.

Speaker 5 (06:27):
And so all of this.

Speaker 4 (06:28):
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.

Speaker 3 (06:47):
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.

Speaker 4 (07:10):
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 two hundred years. I think
about the fact that number one, ownership was important to

(07:34):
our family. So just being able to have ownership, And
that's what I love about what you guys are doing
at in best best, I meet so many people who.

Speaker 5 (07:44):
Want to be owners in their own.

Speaker 4 (07:46):
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.

Speaker 5 (08:00):
We always made sure we provided.

Speaker 4 (08:03):
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
tenants that I think that are extremely important. You know,

(08:27):
as you grow in business, you also have to lift
others up with you.

Speaker 5 (08:33):
If you stand by yourself, then that's a problem. You're
easy to knock off.

Speaker 4 (08:39):
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
up on and each other. We can all work together
as a network as opposed to an individual.

Speaker 5 (08:59):
I think that is extremely important. And education, education is key.

Speaker 4 (09:03):
With each generation of the Mecisics, the education and the
knowledge grew and that was also a sustaining factor for
our business.

Speaker 2 (09:14):
Dude, this is incredible. I want to get this right.

Speaker 1 (09:16):
So you credit your family success with the five piece
right perseverance, preparedness, persistence, productivity and prayer. Talk about how
those show themselves throughout generation to generation and how you're
implementing it to I mean, the evaluation is probably starting
with to be at this point, how has that prepared

(09:37):
you and got you to this point?

Speaker 5 (09:40):
Well, the projects are at a b okay, that's for sure.
You know.

Speaker 4 (09:47):
Perseverance is getting up every day in the face of adversity.

Speaker 5 (09:51):
Period.

Speaker 4 (09:53):
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 five hundred and
you know, I don't.

Speaker 5 (10:13):
Think they thought I had anything to contribute. They were like,
who is this lady. I mean, I don't even think
they noticed me. And I thought to him, I said, well,
how am I.

Speaker 4 (10:21):
Gonna make it in New York City If this is
these are the people.

Speaker 5 (10:26):
That I have to generate revenue from.

Speaker 4 (10:30):
And so persistence is getting up every day saying I
am going to live my dream and I'm not gonna
let anything stop me.

Speaker 5 (10:39):
And I think the Mcusics have done that in every generation.
Productivity means just that you have actually produced value, and
we have done that.

Speaker 4 (10:54):
I feel that we have documented the black experience in
this country through our bid, through the universities that we built,
the hospitals, the schools, and so that's to me, it's productivity.
The other one is preparedness. We talked about education, drawing

(11:17):
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 best
and it's all true. And the other I forgot, what's
the fourth one?

Speaker 2 (11:37):
Well, we got prayer still and we got.

Speaker 4 (11:41):
Preparedness, idea, preparedness, productivity, perseverance, persistence, and 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, of God given purpose, then you

(12:03):
will achieve it. Now, prayer is the one I added
because some days that's exactly what I need.

Speaker 2 (12:09):
Prayer.

Speaker 4 (12:11):
I'm in constant contact saying, you know, Lord, let the
words of my mouth or the meditations of my heart
be acceptable unto you, not to anyone else, but to you.

Speaker 5 (12:23):
And if I do that, then I know.

Speaker 4 (12:26):
I've accomplished what I've needed to accomplish for the day.
And so those are the five p's and they have
shown up everywhere in the Mechisic legacy.

Speaker 5 (12:35):
And with each.

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