He was the eldest of six children from in Union,South Carolina.His parents were John Hayes Bankhead & Pearl Eugenia Eskew.He had hoped to attend Tuskegee University,the lack of funds forced him to seek training elsewhere.He wrote to Voorches College in Denmark,South Carolina,and was later enrolled in 1937.He graduated from Voorches with a degree agriculture and a certificate in carpentry in 1941.After graduating from college,Lester was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1942.
Upon completion of basic training his unit was ordered to assist in the liberation of North Africa.After being discharged from the Army,Lester moved to Los Angeles and settled within the Central Avenue Community.He attended the Los Angeles City College,Otis Art Institute,and Los Angeles Trade Technical College.Lester worked various jobs and eventually began his own practice in the 1950s.Lester was among a handful of pioneering African-American architects in Los-Angeles in the 1950s.Although he faced the racial prejudice of his time,Lester was able to obtain work from Hollywood celebrities,such as actor Lorne Green,Kelly Lang,a well-known Los Angeles news anchor,and H.B.Barmum,note music producer and arranger for Frank Sinatra and Smokey Robinson & the Miracles.
Although he designed homes emphasis as an architect was church design.Lester's most notable buildings include Chapel of Faith Baptist Church,Greater Life Missionary Church,and New Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church.Voorhees College honored Lester as one of "100 distinguished Alumni" at the Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education in 1988.
No comments:
Post a Comment