John Louis Wilson, Jr., , (1898–1989), was an American architect. He was one of the first African American architects to be registered in New York State. He had worked for New York City Department of Parks and Recreation and also maintained a private architecture practice in the New York City. Early life and education John Louis Wilson, Jr. was born on January 24, 1898 in Meridian, Mississippi into an African American family. Wilson's father was a minister and his mother was a music teacher. His maternal grandfather had been born into slavery, and because he valued education, he sent his five children to college. He attended elementary school in Meridian, and starting at age 12 he attended Gilbert Academy in New Orleans. Wilson graduated with a B.A. (1919) from New Orleans University (now Dillard University); and from the Columbia School of Architecture (now Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation) with a B.Arch. (1928). He was the first Black graduate of the architecture program at Columbia University. Career From 1920 to 1923, he worked as a math teacher and football coach at Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Arkansas. He moved to New York City in 1924 with the intention to attend Columbia University and study architecture. He had to delay his studies due to financial issues and from 1924 until 1926, Wilson worked as a draftsman for architect Vertner Woodson Tandy. By 1928 he had completed his architecture degree. Wilson began his architectural career in 1929, with the New York City Board of Transportation and in September 24,1930, he became a registered architect in the state. He was one of the earliest African American architects to be licensed in New York state. In 1933 he set up his own architectural practice in Harlem, and left the New York City Board of Transportation. Wilson maintained his private practice until his retirement in 1980. He had also served as a consulting architect for the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. In the 1930s, Wilson was appointed by mayor Fiorello La Guardia to join the architecture team for the design of the Harlem River Houses, but he faced racism and he was not made one of a lead architects. There were seven architects working together on the Harlem River Houses, which was the first federally financed housing project. In the mid-1950's, Wilson was a founding president of the Council