Honoring NOMAC

Black History Month began as Negro History Week in 1926, started by Carter G. Woodson, the “father of Black History” and an African American historian, scholar, educator and publisher. Woodson imagined a week-long celebration to promote and educate people, specifically in the public schools, about Black history and culture. The second week of February was chosen as it coincides with the birthdays of Frederick Douglas and Abraham Lincoln and became a month-long celebration in 1976 when President Gerald Ford recognized it as Black History Month. Canada also celebrates Black History Month in February, while countries such as the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Ireland celebrate it in October.

While the month of February is a time of celebration and recognition, we know Black history is American history, and the contributions and challenges that shaped our country from African Americans should be acknowledged, taught and discussed all year round and not one month a year.

Serving as your NOMA President and former Historian, we commit to always elevating the voices of our members, celebrating our triumphs and documenting our successes. Our organization began over 50 years ago, and recording our history remains important to its preservation. We must document our past and present to ensure its accuracy, so that NOMA’s history is not forgotten but told and understood by generations to come.

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Our Current Honoree

Christian Solorio is the next Voices Honoree

NOMA Voices – in this space we will share member stories and how NOMA has influenced their careers and daily lives. This platform will serve as a source for elevating and celebrating our members through the lens of NOMA National. NOMA has become the go-to resource for industry leaders and media searching for talented people of color. Narratives shared will give members the opportunity to convey the impact of NOMA stemming from their experience to the industry at large. Our current vocalist is Christian Solorio.

#educate #ELEVATE #empower

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Things You Should Know About

Celebrating NOMA's 50th Anniversary, One Founder at a Time

012 Robert Wilson NOMA

October 2021

In celebrating our legends and echoing a core value of honoring our rich legacy, the NOMA 50th Anniversary Task Force, in partnership with the Historian Committee, is proud to introduce you to our Founding heroes.

Robert L. Wilson

Robert L. Wilson was Senior Principal of The Wilson Group of Companies which included commercial and residential development, asset acquisition-enhancement-disposition, architecture, urban design & planning, construction management, program management, interior design and space planning. The companies were started by Mr. Wilson in 1966. Present offices are in Stamford, Connecticut and Orlando, Florida. More of the story

September 2021

In celebrating our legends and echoing a core value of honoring our rich legacy, the NOMA 50th Anniversary Task Force, in partnership with the Historian Committee, is proud to introduce you to our Founding heroes.

Harold Louis Williams

Harold Louis Williams, FAIA, NOMAC, practiced architecture for over fifty years, in Los Angeles California. He established the firm of Harold Williams Associates (HWA), Architects & Urban Planners. For a time he was principal in a partnership, Kinsey, Meeds & Williams, as well as joint ventures with other firms. Mr. Williams was the chief architect on public buildings projects including the Compton City Hall in 1976.
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August 2021

In celebrating our legends and echoing a core value of honoring our rich legacy, the NOMA 50th Anniversary Task Force, in partnership with the Historian Committee, is proud to introduce you to our Founding heroes.

Robert J. Nash

The inaugural recipient of the Whitney Young Award, Robert J. Nash, FAIA, was the first African American architect elected to national AIA office, and was named to the AIA Task Force on Equal Opportunity following Whitney Young’s 1968 public challenge for architecture to chart a more socially-responsible path. More of his story

July 2021

In celebrating our legends and echoing a core value of honoring our rich legacy, the NOMA 50th Anniversary Task Force, in partnership with the Historian Committee, is proud to introduce you to our Founding heroes.

E.H. McDowell

E.H. McDowell was a practicing architect and engineer for nineteen years, sixteen of which have been spent in private practice. Mr. McDowell was the first black architect registered in Kansas and accepted by the AIA in the state of Kansas. He is registered architect in 11 states and 2 territories. More of his story

June 2021

In celebrating our legends and echoing a core value of honoring our rich legacy, the NOMA 50th Anniversary Task Force, in partnership with the Historian Committee, is proud to introduce you to our Founding heroes.

Jeh Vincent Johnson

Professor and architect Jeh Vincent Johnson was born on July 8, 1931 in Nashville, Tennessee to Marie Antionette Burgette and Charles Spurgeon Johnson. He graduated from Pearl High School in Nashville, Tennessee in 1949. Johnson received his A.B. degree from Columbia University in New York in 1953 before being drafted to serve in the Counter Intelligence Corps of the U.S. Army until 1954. He then earned his M.A. degree in architecture in 1958 from Columbia University. More of his story

May 2021

In celebrating our legends and echoing a core value of honoring our rich legacy, the NOMA 50th Anniversary Task Force, in partnership with the Historian Committee, is proud to introduce you to our Founding heroes.

Nelson A. Harris

A native of Ohio, Nelson Arthur Harris, Sr. was a witness to the racism of the deep north of the United States. His family was threatened by a local group of the Klu Klux Klan when he was a young boy, but the Firestone Family of Akron, for whom his father occasionally worked, intervened to secure their safety. More of his story

April 2021

In celebrating our legends and echoing a core value of honoring our rich legacy, the NOMA 50th Anniversary Task Force, in partnership with the Historian Committee, is proud to introduce you to our Founding heroes.

Kenneth G. Groggs

Kenneth Gene Groggs, a founder of the National Organization of Minority Architects was the first black person to serve as Illinois State Architect. A native of Kansas, Mr. Groggs was president of Groggs & Associates, which he founded in 1983. Link to page.

March 2021

In celebrating our legends and echoing a core value of honoring our rich legacy, the NOMA 50th Anniversary Task Force, in partnership with the Historian Committee, is proud to introduce you to our Founding heroes.

James C. Dodd

Known as Sacramento’s first African American architect, James C. Dodd worked on a number of Sacramento buildings. He was in business in Sacramento for more than 40 years. Architectural drawings and specifications by Dodd and Associates of Sacramento area buildings including Del Paso Heights Schools, McClellan Air Force Base remodels, Saint Hope Academy, Netta Sparks Women’s Civic Improvement Club, and private residences such as the Edna Wright house, Hill House and James Jones’ house. Link to page.

February 2021

In celebrating our legends and echoing a core value of honoring our rich legacy, the NOMA 50th Anniversary Task Force, in partnership with the Historian Committee, is proud to introduce you to our Founding heroes.

John S. Chase

John Saunders Chase was born on January 23, 1925, in Annapolis, Maryland. He attended Hampton University, earning a Bachelor of Science in Architecture degree from Hampton University in 1948. Hampton’s job placement program led Chase to Austin, Texas, where he worked as a draftsman and contractor, and where he met and married Drucie Rucker Chase, whom he referred to as “the wind beneath his sails.” On June 7, 1950, at the University of Texas in Austin, John Saunders Chase became the first African American to enroll at a major university in the South. Read more of his story here.

January 2021

In celebrating our legends and echoing a core value of honoring our rich legacy, the NOMA 50th Anniversary Task Force, in partnership with the Historian Committee, is proud to introduce you to our Founding heroes.

Wendell Campbell

Wendell Campbell, nationally recognized architect and urban planner, passed away peacefully Wednesday, July 9, 2008. Mr. Campbell was 81 years old.

Born on April 27, 1927 Mr. Campbell grew up in East Chicago, IN the fourth of six children. He was often called to work alongside his father, a carpenter, who demanded perfection in every project. Following fourteen months of service Mr. Campbell was honorably discharged and he returned home to study architecture. Mr. Campbell was the recipient of several scholarships and he graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1957 with a B.A. in Architecture and City Planning. Read more of his story here.

December 2020

In celebrating our legends and echoing a core value of honoring our rich legacy, the NOMA 50th Anniversary Task Force, in partnership with the Historian Committee, is proud to introduce you to our Founding heroes.

Leroy M. Campbell

Leroy Campbell, AIA NOMA was born on July 5, 1927, in New York City. After graduating from Rock Castle High School in Virginia, he attended the school of Architecture at Howard University from which he graduated in 1951.

After working with several firms in the Washington DC area. Leroy met John D. Sulton, his future partner, while working with Hillard Robinson, FAIA. In 1964, Leroy and John formed the successful firm of Sulton Campbell & Associates, Chartered. Their firm was once one of the largest firms in the area with offices in Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland. Although his experience was wide-ranging, most of Campbell’s work consisted of large scale housing developments. Institutional architecture, transportation projects and medical facilities. Read more of his story here.

November 2020

In celebrating our legends and echoing a core value of honoring our rich legacy, the NOMA 50th Anniversary Task Force, in partnership with the Historian Committee, is proud to introduce you to our Founding heroes.

William M. Brown, Jr.

William M. Brown Jr., affectionately called “Bill,” was born and raised in the City of Newark, NJ. He attended Newark Public Schools, South Street School and Franklin Ave Schools be­fore attending Barringer High School. Bill graduated from Howard University in 1952, with a Bachelor of Architecture/Construction degree.

He joined forces with his colleague Reginald C. Hale, also a Howard University School of Architecture graduate, to open the first African- American architectural firm in the City of Newark, NJ, Brown and Hale Architects, in 1962. Along with a long list of accomplishments, William M. Brown Jr. became the first African- American President of the Newark and Suburban Architects in 1973. Read more of his amazing story here.

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