The Long Game Ep 02 | The Multi-Gen Black Family Who Built America: Dr. Cheryl McKissack Daniel

Why It Matters

The McKissack saga shows that deliberate cultural values and strategic resilience can turn historic adversity into a multibillion‑dollar, legacy‑building enterprise, guiding modern founders toward sustainable, inclusive growth.

Key Takeaways

• McKissack & McKissack is America’s oldest minority, woman‑owned design firm.
• Five generations survived Jim Crow, securing $50 billion in projects.
• Founders earned first Black architectural licenses in Tennessee, 1922.
• Family’s ‘Five P’s’—persistence, preparedness, perseverance, productivity, prayer—guide longevity.
• Cheryl’s upbringing immersed in architecture, education, and community legacy.

Summary

The Long Game episode features Cheryl McKissack Daniel, chair of McKissack & McKissack, discussing how her fifth‑generation, minority‑owned design and construction firm has endured for over a century.

She traces the firm’s roots to enslaved brickmaker Moses McKissack I (1790) and highlights pivotal moments: Moses II’s work on the Maxwell House Hotel, the 1922 licensing of Moses III and Calvin as the nation’s first Black architects, and the strategic survival of the business through Jim Crow by lobbying board members.

Daniel emphasizes the ‘Five P’s’—persistence, preparedness, perseverance, productivity, and prayer—as the cultural DNA that kept the company alive. She recalls traveling to remote sites without hotels, the family’s habit of tracing building plans as children, and her mother’s decisive call to quit a corporate job to protect the legacy.

The story illustrates how intentional family governance, strategic risk‑taking, and a purpose beyond profit can sustain multigenerational enterprises, offering a blueprint for today’s founders, especially Black entrepreneurs seeking equity and long‑term impact.

Original Description

Dr. Cheryl McKissack Daniel, Chair of the Board, McKissack & McKissack, joins Eric Becker to share how she leads one of America’s oldest family-owned businesses, spanning over 230 years and five generations. From enslaved ancestors who were master builders to leading a firm responsible for over $50 billion in construction projects, Cheryl shares lessons on leadership, resilience, and building a lasting business legacy.

Cheryl says that for family-owned companies, business is personal, and that pressure drives leaders to take bold risks, stay agile, and never settle for mediocrity. She also emphasizes the power of owning mistakes, a mindset that has shaped the firm’s culture, performance, and long-term success.

Key Takeaways:

How to sustain a multi-generational family business

Why 100-year companies take the biggest risks

How high-performing leaders avoid mediocrity and drive excellence

Why resilience, adaptability, and strategy fuel long-term business success

The importance of accountability: why great leaders own their mistakes

Historic photographs courtesy of Metro Nashville Archives

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