WALTER EDWARDS

by Keira Wesley-Busher

Walter Edwards stands on the green roof of the luxurious new Kalahari against a backdrop that may appear an obvious antithesis to the naive eye. But for someone with a wide social vision and a deep social consciousness, the principles of the San people depicted within the bricks of this condominuium are not far from the lifestyles of many Harlem residents surrounding it. The soul and the perseverance of kindred people on distant continents draw striking similarities. And now, propelled by the harsh experiences in the South fueled by an innate personal dignity, Walter Edwards, a reconciler of sorts, remolds history in the architecture of Harlem and restores the quality of life for many.

The life of Walter Edwards, in all its manifold experiences, intermingling relationships, from a profound, informed and complex consciousness, creates the meaningful picture we experience in his work today. As a founding member of Full Spectrum, one of Harlem’s most prominent real estate development companies and a staunch advocate to building sustainable affordable homes, long before “green” was fashionable, Edwards has been able to influence the New York community more than one building at a time. By his ability to construct buildings, build up people and articulate his experiences and ideas it seems ultimately that he is restoring a lost heritage and giving back to the community their identity as natural creators. 

As far back as childhood, Walter Edwards remembers having a profound desire for self discovery and his true cultural identity. He continually searched for ways to identify himself, within Africa or the American Indian culture or the Arab nations, because he drew the obvious conclusion that his roots sprung far beyond South Carolina and New York soil. 

It became clearer as he grew older and began to travel that there was nothing to identify the African American in his surroundings. “I had a travel agency and at times I would walk with the tours. Guides would speak about the facades of buildings and they knew which period the art came from, who built it and their history, and I would be in amazement – because we are the master builders and we get no credit for it here,” Edwards explains. He now gets the credit, although not always accurately, his contributions are irrefutable and command recognition.

Mr. Edwards moved to New York at age nine in 1947 from South Carolina, but the memory of experiences in the south left a lasting impression.  He recalls segregation practices such as separate drinking fountains and remembers the fear and torment felt as a child shut up in the house when the Ku Klux Klan would ride. “By the time I moved to New York I had seen families killed, people shot in the back. I saw what happened and I just wasn’t accepting that. And I remember when the Klan would be riding …and you live this way,” he remembers. 

Many of Edwards’ life experiences shape the background for the developments seen on 116th Street and Fifth Avenue among other developments by Full Spectrum.  And the negative experiences have the least influence on his work. He has been in the military, traveled throughout the world studying other lands and people, besides maintaining an intense commitment to his family, his faith and his community. He bought his first home, a four family brownstone, for his wife and sons and refurbished it himself. Mr. Edwards wanted to prevent his sons from experiencing some of the uncomfortable living conditions he experienced growing up in Harlem like banging on pipes for heat and the noise. And he wanted to restore some of the beauty and details brownstone homes once had with sunken living rooms, large social spaces and all the trimmings. The period of migration led to the cutting up of many beautiful brownstones, dividing them into single room occupancies (SRO’s).   More in the print edition of HTQ