- But another of Mies's students, John Moutoussamy, would challenge norms in a very different and more permanent way.

- The skyline is being shaped entirely by white men.

John Moutoussamy, interesting fellow, he's Black, you know, at a time when licensed Black architects were a rare thing.

- John Warren Moutoussamy was a veteran of the Second World War.

The GI Bill opened the door to architecture for the South Side native, but opportunities to prove himself were hard to come by.

- His race didn't make him any less talented.

His racism that saw him less valuable.

- Moutoussamy's moment came when publisher John H. Johnson wanted to build new headquarters for his growing media empire, anchored by Ebony and Jet magazines.

- These are magazines that they published that really heralded the arrival of black people.

- It was the chance of a lifetime, but the $8 million price tag brought skepticism from banks uncomfortable with Moutoussamy's leading role, despite him being the only black partner in an all-white firm.

- John Johnson talks about this in his autobiography.

He says, "If I can't hire a black person to design this building, then what's it all about?"

So he presses and he presses.

- Moutoussamy got the commission and the financing.

He embraced modernism's clean lines and lack of ornament.

Clad and walnut travertine stone, the building projected strength, sophistication, and black excellence.

- Moutoussamy's design very elegant.

He recesses the windows off Michigan Avenue, which provides some shading.

So he's thinking about shading and daylighting a generation before most of us did.

- When it opened, it became the first high rise in downtown Chicago, designed by a black architect.

- This building says, "Man, we've arrived."

Local dignitaries are there like Mayor Daley and Jesse Jackson.

Everybody starts to show up.

Henry Fonda, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Ossie Davis and Ruby D. It becomes this kind of happening.

Everybody wants to see this building.

- This is a critical building in black culture in the city of Chicago and in architectural history.

- Moutoussamy's legacy endures in a city where skyscrapers are not just symbols of wealth and innovation, they are mirrors of society and who gets to be seen.

- Oftentimes the young folks that I work with, mostly brown and black students, don't think that the super talls or the new buildings are for them.

Having diverse people designing buildings and shaping the fabric of our city is critical to be able to tell a full and holistic story of the people who live there.