In honor of Martin Luther King Day, the Monrovia Historical Museum will be hosting a program on Monrovia’s own Robert Kennard, founder of the oldest African-American architecture firm in Los Angeles. The event entitled “Robert Kennard – Architect and Mentor” will be presented by three individuals: Jerome Robinson, a USC graduate student, who wrote his master’s thesis on Kennard, Gail Kennard, Kennard’s daughter, and President of the Kennard Design Group; and Ralph Walker, KGEM newscaster.
The speakers will talk about Kennard’s childhood in Monrovia and his struggle to find his first architecture job. A World War II and Korean War veteran, Kennard attended USC’s School of Architecture on the GI Bill.
In 1957, he founded the Kennard Design Group, which provided architecture and planning services, and overcame struggles to become one of the largest and oldest African-American architectural firms west of the Mississippi River.
The event will take place on Sunday, Jan. 20, 2019, at 1 p.m. at the Monrovia Historical Museum. The address is 742 E. Lemon Ave. Admission is free.
