Julian Abele was the first African American graduate of the University of Pennsylvania's School of Architecture in 1902. Although his work is the prominent signature of the Philadelphia urbanscape with contributions like The Museum of Art, The Free Library and The Family Courthouse, most people are unaware of his accomplishments. Additionally, Julian designed a major portion of Duke University's campus.
Little was known about him until the late 80s when students on Duke's campus were protesting apartheid and built a shanty town in the middle of the quad. A letter to the school paper commented on the students' actions and remarked that perhaps the builders of the campus would be aggreived with such a horrible site. In response, Susan Cook, grand-niece of Abele who was matriculating at Duke wrote a letter stating that he would not have objected to the shanty protest because he was a victim of apartheid in his own country. According to her, he had not even traveled to view the campus he designed because he hated segregation, which at that time was very prevalent in the South.
Source:
Philadelphia Free Library 75th Anniversary Online Exhibit
February 2005 Smithsonian article
Julian Abele - Out of the Shadows Google Earth Tour