Abstract
In 1954, Robert Madison started Robert P. Madison International Inc., Ohio's first architectural firm started by an African-American. In this 2006 interview, Madison discusses the challenges he faced as a black man trying to become an architect and the discrimination he faced at various points in his life. He describes serving in World War II and coming back to Cleveland, where he successfully challenged racial discrimination at Case Western Reserve University, graduating with a degree in architecture before moving on to graduate studies at Harvard and in Europe. Madison describes the establishment of his architecture firm and some of the projects on which he worked, including the American Embassy in Senegal and churches for the African Methodist Episcopal Church. More broadly, Madison remarks on the role of African-Americans in architecture and what he views as his legacy as an African-American architect.
Interviewee
Madison, Robert (interviewee)
Interviewer
James, Greg (interviewer)
Project
American Institute of Architects
Date
8-1-2006
Document Type
Oral History
Duration
61 minutes
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.
Recommended Citation
"Robert Madison Interview, 01 August 2006" (2006). Cleveland Regional Oral History Collection. Interview 951008.
https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/crohc000/249