Ford Honors McKinley Thompson Jr. in Celebration of BHM
Photo: Ford Motor Company
In celebration of Black History Month and in preparation for the impending reveal of the all-new 2021 Bronco, Ford is shining a spotlight on McKinley Thompson Jr., the first black designer hired by the automaker in 1956. After obtaining his degree in transportation design from ArtCenter College of Design, Thompson joined the advanced design studio in Dearborn and had a hand in sketching out the Mustang, GT40, and Bronco.
“McKinley was a man who followed his dreams and wound up making history,” said Ford Bronco interior designer Christopher Young. “He not only broke through the color barrier in the world of automotive design, he helped create some of the most iconic consumer products ever — from the Ford Mustang, Thunderbird and Bronco — designs that are not only timeless but have been studied by generations of designers.”
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McKinley Thompson Jr.: Trailblazer
Photo: Ford
Born in Queens in 1922, Thompson drew early inspiration from seeing a DeSoto Airflow that drove him to seek a career in automotive design. After serving in the Army Signal Corps as an engineering layout coordinator in World War II, he entered and won a Motor Trend design contest that led to his enrollment at ArtCenter.
Plucked up by Ford fresh out of university, Thompson would go on to become a key member of the team that designed the 1966 Ford Bronco. On July 24, 1963, he submitted “Package Proposal #5 for Bronco,” which foretold the wheels-to-the-corners, road-going look that ultimately became a signature of the original SUV.
Even after retiring from Ford in 1984, Thompson’s imagination stayed active. He designed and built a concept SUV called the Warrior, which was unique for its one-piece fiberglass body. Though he passed on March 5, 2006, Thompson’s legacy lives on at Ford and beyond to this day.
“McKinley’s influence, beyond his work on the original Bronco, helped pave the way for others like him who might not have had an opportunity to express their creative talents and live their dreams to be a part of one of America’s greatest companies,” said Young.
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Kyle S. Johnson lives in Cincinnati, a city known by many as “the Cincinnati of Southwest Ohio.” He enjoys professional wrestling, Halloween, and also other things. He has been writing for a while, and he plans to continue to write well into the future. See more articles by Kyle.