PHOENIX — As we celebrate Black History Month, we are also celebrating Arizona heroes like Rushia Fellows, who was the very first licensed Black architect in Arizona and the first Black student to earn an architecture degree at Arizona State University.
Before he died in 1990, Fellows was credited with designing more than 50 buildings across the city. From the Greater Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church and the South Mountain Community Center to the old Esquire Barbershop, Fellows' impact on our city is undeniable — and it turns out that he had a major impact on the lives of many people he came into contact with, as well.
Fellows is being celebrated with a new addition to an old neighborhood that's helping to keep the history of Eastlake Park alive.
"All of these are his drawing tools," said Valley developer Lorenzo Perez, who helped spearhead a new mural dedicated to Fellows near 12th and Jefferson streets.
"I wanted to make sure we captured his seal. That was everything for the architect."
As an architecture major at ASU in the Fall of 1990, Perez got to know Fellows quite well; Fellows was his advisor and served as a mentor for Perez, who was the first in his immediate family to go to college.
"He was such a gentle person and easy to be around and so encouraging."
During his first semester, Perez remembers struggling — being away from home, working, and having to juggle his schoolwork almost became unbearable.
Perez remembered going to Fellows' office for advice for a meeting that would end up changing his life.
"He put his hand on my shoulder and told me to have a seat...and I remember he told the receptionist to clear his schedule."
Perez says for two hours, Fellows encouraged him and helped him map out a new academic plan.
"So he said, 'Let's get to work. Let's get to work.'"
And that's just what he did. Perez buckled down and stayed determined, and it all paid off, earning an A grade on his next project. And the one person he couldn't wait to tell was Fellows.
But sadly, he'd never get the chance. Just a few weeks after that meeting, Fellows died of a heart attack at age 65.
Perez, who is now a successful Valley developer, sometimes wonders where he would be if not for the support of Fellows. Now, he's getting the chance to honor him by helping to get the mural painted, fittingly on the old Esquire Barbershop building, a building that Fellows designed.
Perez is also the first of two recipients of the Rushia Fellows Memorial Scholarship at ASU.
See more on the lasting legacy of Rushia Fellows in the video player below:
