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The
Building of a Nation: African-Americans in Civil Engineering and Surveying
"The art of
developing solutions to real world problems is what makes engineering so
tremendously satisfying. In every instance, these solutions improve the quality
of life for those in need." Lt.
General Joseph N. Ballard, first black commander of the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers
Our
African Heritage
The
African continent was the site of mankind’s first use of basic civil
engineering and surveying
concepts. As early as 3500 B.C., practitioners were designing, measuring the
land, and overseeing the construction of the world’s oldest civilizations.
Beginning
with the building of the great temples and pyramids
of ancient Egypt (2700 B.C.), shared
engineering and surveying techniques lead to the development of flourishing
cities in the regions that became Sudan,
Mali,
Zimbabwe,
Ethiopia,
Ghana,
Benin,
and Nigeria.
Trade
routes across the world’s most diverse and wild terrain consisted of a vast
infrastructure of trails, roads, bridges, canals, and ports that provided for
the shipment of Africa’s great riches, and the tragic capture and sale of
human beings.
Muscle
and Might of America
Since
their arrival as slaves beginning in 1526, African-Americans have been a major
force in the engineering and construction of our nation. Their skills
contributed to the creation of some of our earliest cities such as St.
Augustine, Florida (1565), New
York, New York (1626) Boston,
Massachusetts (1630), Annapolis,
Maryland (1649), and Charleston,
South Carolina
(1670).
Following
the Civil
War and the abolition
of slavery, most African-Americans continued to be segregated to the
lowest jobs of drudgery and despair.
The
death of railroad steel driver “Iron”
John Henry in the 1880s, following his victory of a legendary race
with a steam powered drill to break away rock for the building of either the Big
Bend Tunnel in Talcott, West Virginia or the Oak
Mountain Tunnel in Leeds, Alabama came to epitomize the plight of
black workers and their many sacrifices.
During
the construction of the first New
York City
Subway tunnels (1904), African-Americans were relegated to the
“Digger” position since it was thought that they could withstand the heat
better than other workers.
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Alaska Highway
Builders
Throughout
the Great Depression, President Roosevelt’s Works
Progress Administration employed more than a million black workers to
construct infrastructure projects, but it was not until the opening of the
Alaska
Highway
in 1942 that black engineers and builders were widely recognized for their
accomplishments. The all-black 93rd, 95th, and 97th Regiments of the Corps of
Army Engineers (3,695 troops) played a major role in the construction of the
1,523-mile long military supply route between Dawson Creek, British Columbia and
Fairbanks, Alaska that was completed in just 8 months at a cost of $135 million.
Bridge
Builders
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Big Red Oak Creek
Bridge
Spanning
the adversity, there were African-Americans determined to excel in the building
of our nation:
Julian
Abele (1881-1950), was an award winning designer of large,
European style, country homes located throughout the northeast, as well as the Philadelphia
Museum of Art, Philadelphia
Free Library, and buildings at
Duke
University
and New York
University. He was a senior partner with the prestigious architectural firm Horace
Trumbauer & Associates.
Civil
Engineer Archibald
Alexander (1888-1958) was responsible for the design and construction
of infrastructure projects throughout the nation including the Kutz (Tidal
Basin)
Bridge
and K Street Freeway in
Washington
,
D.C.
, a sewage treatment plant in
Grand Rapids, Michigan, and the heating plant and power station at the
University
of
Iowa.
Surveyor,
astronomer, and clock maker Benjamin
Banneker (1731-1806) was appointed by Major Andrew
Ellicott, in 1791, to be a member of the survey crew responsible for
laying out the original property boundaries and streets of
Washington,
D.C.
Builder
Horace
King (1807-1885) constructed more than 100 covered bridges, including
the first major crossing of the
Chattahoochee
River
connecting
Columbus
,
Georgia
and Phenix City,
Alabama, and the Big
Red Oak Creek Bridge, Georgia’s oldest covered bridge. He also
built homes and buildings throughout the south.
Builder
Frederick
Massiah (1886-1975) was among the first successful black construction
engineers in the nation and an expert in the use of reinforced
concrete. His many accomplishments included the elliptical dome of
the Ascension of Our Lord Church (the first of its kind in the
United States
), the William H. Donner Center for Radiology at the
University
of
Pennsylvania
, and the sewage disposal plant in Trenton, New Jersey.
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Morgan Traffic
Signal
Inventor
Garrett
Morgan (1877-1963) was hailed for his contributions to public safety
first used in
Cleveland,
Ohio. His gas mask invention was worn by rescuers attempting to save workers
trapped in a gas-filled waterworks tunnel beneath
Lake Erie
in 1916, and his automated traffic signal, introduced in 1923, dramatically
improved roadway efficiency and reduced accidents.
Architect and Engineer William
Pittman (1875-1958) won a competition to design the
Negro
Building
at the Jamestown,
Virginia
Ter-Centennial Exposition in 1906. This accomplishment lead to a flourishing
career designing public buildings in
Washington,
D.C.,
Durham,
North Carolina,
Montgomery,
Alabama, and Dallas,
Texas, and the development of Fairmount
Heights,
Maryland.
Architect Wallace
Rayfield (1874-1941) worked closely with the black-owned Windham
Construction Company to become a leading designer of churches and other public
buildings. His notable projects included the 16th
Street
Baptist Church and the Day
Street
Baptist
Church
in Birmingham and
Montgomery, Alabama, as well as structures nationwide for the African Methodist
Episcopal Zion Church.
Architect Robert
Robinson Taylor (1868-1942) was the first accredited African-American
architect in the United States. He designed most of the buildings at Tuskegee
University built prior to 1932. The Tuskegee
Chapel was considered his finest achievement.
Geology Engineer and Geographer Marguerite
Williams (1895-1991) was the first African-American to earn a Ph.D.
in Geology. She dedicated her career to teaching at the
Miners
Teacher
College
(now part of the University of the District of Columbia), and served as
Chairwoman of the Geography Department. She was an expert in the fields of
erosion and geographical history, and wrote her thesis about the Anacostia
River
drainage basin.
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Theme Building at
the L.A. Airport
Engineer and Architect Paul
Williams (1894-1980) was a designer of the Los
Angeles International Airport and more than 2,000 homes in the
Hollywood area. Famous clients included Frank Sinatra, Lucille Ball, and Cary
Grant. He became the first African-American member of the American Institute of
Architects in 1957.
Keep the Legacy Alive!
There is an ever-growing need for students to
enter the fields of Civil Engineering and Surveying. Without the scientific
professionals of tomorrow, we cannot continue to address many of the
technological and social problems that face our world. Challenging our ways of
life and mere existence are needs for improved nuclear and toxic waste disposal,
garbage recycling, water purification and delivery, sewage treatment, housing,
transportation, and energy development. Keep the legacy alive by becoming a
builder of dreams that benefit humanity.
National
Action Council for Minorities in Engineering |
National
Society of Black Engineers
Become
a Civil Engineer | Become
a Surveyor
The
Building of a Nation Brochure
(PDF)
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