Max Bond: The Life and Work of the People’s Architect
October 15 @ 6:00 pm
Kentucky Center for African American Heritage
Presents
Max Bond The Life and Work of the People’s Architect
by Brian Goldstein
J. Max Bond Jr. (1935-2009) was a civil rights activist, educator, and architect who shaped such iconic structures as the Kentucky Center for African American Heritage, the King Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC, and the 9/11 Memorial & Museum in Manhattan. Driven by the concerns of the civil rights movement, he insisted on a practice centered on deep social engagement during years when his profession became preoccupied with celebrity and spectacle.
Award-winning historian Brian Goldstein renders his story visible in the new book, Max Bond: The Life and Work of the People’s Architect (Princeton University Press, 2026). This event will feature a conversation discussing Bond, the book, and the key themes of his life and career. Goldstein will be in conversation with curators Diallo Simon-Ponte and Sarah Battle.
Kentucky Center for African American Heritage
Presents
Max Bond
The Life and Work of the People’s Architect
by Brian Goldstein
J. Max Bond Jr. (1935-2009) was a civil rights activist, educator, and architect who shaped such iconic structures as the Kentucky Center for African American Heritage, the King Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC, and the 9/11 Memorial & Museum in Manhattan. Driven by the concerns of the civil rights movement, he insisted on a practice centered on deep social engagement during years when his profession became preoccupied with celebrity and spectacle.
Award-winning historian Brian Goldstein renders his story visible in the new book, Max Bond: The Life and Work of the People’s Architect (Princeton University Press, 2026). This event will feature a conversation discussing Bond, the book, and the key themes of his life and career. Goldstein will be in conversation with curators Diallo Simon-Ponte and Sarah Battle.
Details
Venue
Louisville, Kentucky 40203 + Google Map