Stevens alumnus James Sylvester Braxton graduated in 1937 and was the second African American to graduate from Stevens. During his undergraduate days here, he held a four-year Edgar B. Bacon scholarship and participated in numerous social and professional activities, which included involvement with The Stute and the Dramatic Society. He was elected to the Tau Beta Pi fraternity and was also on the Dean’s list.

After graduating from Stevens, Braxton held positions as Chief Engineer for a general contracting firm and as an instructor at Howard University in Washington D.C. He entered Harvard University in 1945 and was awarded a Julius Rosenwald Fellowship for graduate studies in regional planning. He earned the Master of City planning degree from Harvard Graduate School of Design in 1947.

In 1950, Braxton received a letter from city planner, Martin Meyerson, Chief of Planning for the Chicago Housing Authority at the time requesting Braxton to join his team. Braxton accepted Meyerson’s offer, and in 1950 he moved out to Chicago to join the Housing Authority, making Chicago his home until 2015 when he passed away at the age of 101. In 1965, Braxton was promoted to a position as Chief Engineer of the Metropolitan Sanitary District in Chicago, the first African American to hold a top engineering position in that district.

Braxton received two big honors at Stevens, an alumni achievement award recognizing his work in the government sector in 1970, and in 1987 he received an honorary doctorate. In Braxton’s 1987 speech he said, “last year I obtained a U.S. Patent on a systems approach to housing construction. Although the system will permit construction of any type of building, anywhere, the shortage of affordable housing, and the presence of so many unemployed in the inner city make it an attractive starting place.” The Braxton System included pre-manufactured masonry “lok-in” blocks that used the best professional engineering standards and were easily assembled by unskilled labor forces. A cutting-edge solution that not only addressed the affordable housing shortage, but unemployment in inner cities which were often the biggest barriers to more equitable living conditions.

The James Braxton papers document his personal and professional career, both of which were extraordinary and inspiring.