[4][3] Throughout college, Alexander worked multiple part-time jobs to support himself and pay tuition.

[4] Their work also focused on many roads and bridges across the nation, including construction of the Whitehurst Freeway and an extension to the Baltimore–Washington Parkway.

The firm was hired to build a bridge and seawall at the Tidal Basin in Washington DC, where Alexander brought in an integrated construction crew.

[2] Their firm also constructed the Moton Airfield, where the Tuskegee Airmen trained, as well as an apartment building for the National Association for Colored Women.

[4][6] Alexander's firm became so successful Ebony magazine declared it "the nation's most famous interracial business" in 1949.

Alexander began his political career in 1932, when he served as the assistant chairman of the Iowa Republican State Committee, a position that he held again in 1940.

[4] In 1934, Alexander was appointed as part of an investigative team that looked into economic development possibilities for Haiti.

Alexander served as a charter member and the 1944 president of the Des Moines chapter of the NAACP.

[4] He was also president of the Negro Community Center Board and a trustee at both Howard University and the Tuskegee Institute.

[4] In 1955, he was highly criticized for favoring old business partners in contracts for road building on St. Thomas.

The United States House of Representatives launched a probe, and he subsequently resigned on August 18, 1955, ostensibly for health reasons.