From West Africa to enslavement in North Carolina to post-Civil War Tennessee, the McKissacks survived and then thrived in this country, founding a construction business which is now the leading Black design and construction firm, McKissack & McKissack. Hear from fifth generation family member and executive Cheryl McKissack Daniel, in dialogue with Brennan Gilbane Koch of Gilbane Building Company, about their family’s history.

After emancipation, Moses McKissack used the carpentry skills he inherited from his father to start a construction company named for their enslavers, McKissack. Since then, from Reconstruction to contemporary times, the “Black McKissacks” have left their mark across the United States, particularly in such building projects as the John F. Kennedy International Airport, the Barclays Center NYC Transit subway connection, and Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field. In The Black Family Who Built America, descendant Cheryl McKissack Daniel, CEO and president of McKissack & McKissack, reveals the full, fascinating story of her family. The family’s journey, an “American Dream” come true, underscores the importance of perseverance, innovation, and strategic vision; the McKissack family legacy continues to inspire and impact the construction industry. Ms. Daniel will discuss her work of family history with interlocutor Brennan Gilbane Koch, also a fifth-generation family member in the construction business, at Gilbane Building Company

"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.... powerful storytelling... This book could not be more timely."
—Derrick Johnson, President and CEO of the NAACP

Cheryl McKissack Daniel is the award-winning Chair of the Board for 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.

Brennan Gilbane Koch is Vice President, Senior Director, Enterprise Strategic Accounts at Gilbane, where she leads companywide efforts to strengthen relationships with top clients and partners. She oversees engagement with design firms, joint ventures, and owners’ representatives and helped launch Gilbane’s Client Survey program to elevate the firm’s commitment to delivering the Ultimate Building Experience. A fifth generation family member, Brennan has shaped Gilbane’s client experience strategy and previously led client engagement for the New York City business. She also serves on the boards of REBNY, the New York Building Congress, and Columbia University’s Center for Buildings, Infrastructure, and Public Space. She is committed to advancing industry innovation and inclusive partnerships across the built environment.