Juneteenth and the Villa that Became a Legend

2021-06-19T15:18:00-04:00

Juneteenth is perhaps the oldest holiday celebrating the end of slavery in the United States. In our recent time, many have begun to focus more deeply on the heritage and experience of Black people in the United States. A much needed shift, but for years, the Black community has been celebrating Juneteenth, remembering the jubilant day millions of oppressed people’s freedom was solidified, celebrating and acknowledging the dignity of our fellow men and women.

Civil Rights have been a crucial part of American history, and maybe more appropriately, we should say Human Rights, as the two are inextricably intertwined. As architects and designers, the recognition of every human being’s intrinsic value and worth are categorically unavoidable to our duties as facilitators and builders of spatial human experiences. But, with all that aside, what does Juneteenth have to do with architecture? Really, it doesn’t have anything to do with it. But, the culminating event that established this his...

The Story of Horace King, Slave-Turned-Architect

2019-06-20T12:20:00-04:00

For over 250 years, African Americans in the United States endured the bondage of slavery, a cultural, political, and economic regime that exploited their forced labor in order to clear land, harvest crops, and build America’s cities and towns. Under these conditions, human beings were viewed as a form of property and as a source of free labor. Individuals and families were bought, sold, torn apart from loved ones, and subjected to untold violence and exploitation, an existential debt that has yet to be properly or meaningfully reconciled.

Amid this historical context, Horace King, a man born into slavery on a South Carolina plantation, rose to become a prolific architect, real estate developer, and Alabama state legislator. Educated and trained on the jobsite as an engineer and contractor, King built bridges, courthouses, and industrial facilities across the southern United States.

This is his story.

Archinect - Features

Juneteenth and the Villa that Became a Legend

The Story of Horace King, Slave-Turned-Architect