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

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0:32I gave her some suggestions to be sexually aroused. Can you get someone to join your cult? NLP was used on me to access my subconscious. Mind Games, a new podcast exploring NLP, a.k.a. neurolinguistic programming. Is it a self-help miracle, a shady hypnosis scam, or both? Listen to Mind Games on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, it's Joel. and Matt from HowToMoney. If your New Year's resolution is to finally get your finances in shape, we've got your back. Prices, they're still high, and the economy is all over the place. But 2026 is the year for you to get intentional and make real progress.

1:15That's right. Yeah, each week we break down what's happening with your money, the most important issues to focus on, and the small moves that make a big difference. Kick off the year with confidence. Listen to HowToMoney on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello, hello, all my people. What's up? It's Questlove. Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down with the one and only A$AP Rocky. He reflects on his journey from Harlem roots to global icon status and discovering the hip-hop origin of his name. The ledge was on the TV. Rakim had the Buckethead Kangol join on.

1:50I'm possibly like, that's Rakim. That's who you named after. I just was like, damn the f***ing f***ing swag. Swag. Listen to the Questlove show on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

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3:31It's not just about payments. It's about giving you time back so you can focus on what matters most. Ready to see how Square can transform your business? Visit square.com backslash go backslash E-Y-L to learn more. That's square.com backslash go backslash EYL. Don't wait. Don't hesitate. Let Square handle the back end so you can keep pushing your vision forward. 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 at InvestFest twice. Recently, she was at InvestFest this year and just has a new book that came out.

4:14congratulations. Congrats. Congrats. First and foremost. The Black Family Who Built America. Hey, that's a great title. Yeah. So 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? You're calling that into existence because there is a sixth generation that I'm working on. Okay. So five generations. I'm fifth. Yes. 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.

5:06Might 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. 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. 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.

5:58But 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, 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 I, 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.

6:47And that's how we got to Tennessee. And then shortly after emancipation, he moved to Pulaski, Tennessee. and that's where 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 company.

7:34So I am fifth generation in this company. And I have to say after, it was over 200 years that Moses McKissick I 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, you know, 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. But we're a beacon because we are exactly what happens when perseverance meets purpose.

8:32And 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. And then talk about, just follow up on that, because that's, how were 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.

9:15Yes. 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 InvestFest. 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.

10:17But at the same time, we came home to our Black community and took care of our black community. We've built black churches. We've built colleges and universities. And so these are some of the tenets that I think that are extremely important. You know, 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.

11:04I think that is extremely important. And 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. This is incredible. I want to get this right. So you credit your family's 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're implementing it to, I mean, the valuation is probably starting with a B at this point. How has that prepared you and gotten you to this point?

11:45Well, the projects are at a B. Okay. 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 you know I don't 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 I thought to myself well how am I gonna make it in New York City if this is these are the people that I have to generate revenue from um 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.

12:45And I think the McKissicks 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've 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 everyday, you know, professional development. And you guys deal a lot in all of this with InvestFest. And it's all true.

13:37and the other I forgot what's the fourth one well we got prayer still and we got 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, 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, you know, 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.

14:34And so those are the five Ps and they have shown up everywhere in the McKissick legacy and with each generation. You just realized your business needed to hire someone yesterday. How can you find amazing candidates fast? Easy. Just use Indeed. Stop struggling to get your job posts seen on other job sites. With Indeed sponsored jobs, your post jumps to the top of the page for your relevant candidates, so you can reach the people you want faster. According to Indeed data, sponsored jobs posted directly on Indeed have 45 % more applications than non-sponsored jobs. Don't wait any longer. Speed up your hiring right now with Indeed.

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15:56I gave her some suggestions to be sexually aroused. Can you get someone to join your cult? NLP was used on me to access my subconscious. Mind Games, a new podcast exploring NLP, a.k.a. neurolinguistic programming. Is it a self-help miracle, a shady hypnosis scam, or both? Listen to Mind Games on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

16:45off the year with confidence. Listen to How to Money on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This season on Dear Chelsea with me, Chelsea Handler, we've got some incredible guests like Kumail Nanjiani. Let's start with your cat. How is she? She is not with us anymore. Great, great, great way to start. Maybe you will cry. Ross Matthews. You know what kids always say to me? Are you a boy or a girl? Oh my God. All the time. That's so funny. I know. So I try to butch it up for kids So they're not confused? Yeah, but you're butching it up. It's basically like Doris Day.

17:19No, I turn into Bea Arthur. Listen to these episodes of Dear Chelsea on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello, hello, all my people. What's up? It's Questlove. Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down with the one and only A$AP Rocky. He reflects on his journey from Harlem roots to global icon status and discovering the hip-hop origin of his name. The ledge was on the TV. Rakim had the bucket hat Kangol join on. My pops was like, that's Rakim. That's who you named after. I just was like, damn, that f***ed, I swear. Listen to the Questlove show on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

18:02This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human.