In 1924, Randolph Montrose Smith became the first African American student to graduate from Stevens Institute of Technology.
Born in Barbados in 1901, Smith arrived in New York City when he was two years old, on the Cearense ship. The Stevens Library does not have a lot of records on Smith, but they were able to determine that while attending Stevens, Smith lived in upper Manhattan on West 140th Street. After graduating Stevens, Smith worked as a civil engineer for the Manhattan subway system. Smith has an undergraduate scholarship dedicated in his name, for which students can still apply.
James Sylvester Braxton, a class of 1937 African American Stevens alum, has a impressive resume both from his time at Stevens and after. As an undergrad, he participated in a plethora of social and professional organizations, such as The Stute and the Stevens Dramatic Society. Braxton was elected to Tau Beta Pi fraternity and appeared on the Dean’s List. The 1936 edition of The Link described him as one of the most active members of his class.
After graduating in 1937, Braxton worked as a chief engineer for a general contracting firm and as a Howard University instructor. In 1945, he attended Harvard University, and was awarded a Julius Rosenwald Fellowship for graduate studies in regional planning. He graduated Harvard Graduate School of Design with a Master of City Planning degree.
Braxton used his Harvard education to pursue his lifelong passion: designing and manufacturing low-cost housing systems. He worked as a site planner of international housing projects for the New York firm of Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill and the International Basic Economy Housing Corporation. In 1950, he became Supervising Senior Planner for the Chicago Housing Authority.
Braxton continued to grow in his career; in 1965, he became the Assistant Chief Engineer for the Metropolitan Sanitary District of Greater Chicago. In 1981, Braxton moved on to become the Vice President of Globetrotters Engineering Corporation.
Later, as President of Braxton Inc., he was able to pursue his dream of manufacturing reduced cost housing systems. Braxton patented the Braxton Inc., a system of manufactured housing that can be assembled by unskilled labor with a minimum of training.
Braxton returned to Stevens in 1987 to receive an honorary degree. He conveyed his passion: “I have enjoyed being an engineer. It has both stimulated and satisfied my curiosity. My engineering training has enabled me to be more creative . . . Last year, I obtained a U.S. Patent on a systems approach to housing construction. Although the system will permit construction of any type building, anywhere, the shortage of affordable housing, and the presence of so many unemployed in the inner city make it an attractive starting place. For example, I would like to see pilot projects in Newark and Chicago. I believe that a properly-designed housing system such as the one I am developing, erected by semi skilled workers could cut the cost of decent housing by a factor of one third to one half.”
Women were only admitted to Stevens starting Fall 1971. Sheila Banks, a native of Newark, NJ, became the first African American woman to graduate from Stevens in 1978, over a century after the founding of Stevens. Banks earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering. Banks stated, “I want to be accepted as a person first and not because I am black or because I’m a woman.” Banks was a member of the Society of Women Engineers, was Secretary of the Black Student Union, played violin, and was a singer in the Glee Club. After graduation, she worked in a technical marketing position at Westinghouse Electric Corporation and was promoted to Sales Engineer in their New York City office.
Joelle Hinds graduated in 1993. She was born and raised in New York City. Hinds impressed with her potential in mathematics, and was introduced to Stevens by the father of friend, who happened to be an alumnus. According to the Stevens Library, Hinds attended an intensive six-week-long STEP Bridge summer program, after which she attended Stevens at the young age of 16. She graduated with an Engineering Management degree.
All historical information was sourced from the Stevens Library website and from the Archives and Special Collections Department.
Be First to Comment