James C. Dodd was born on January 17, 1923, in Texarkana, Texas,[5][6] into an African American family.
[9] Nathaniel Colley was the first Black lawyer in the city and a civil right leader;[10] and the building was considered for listing on the Sacramento Register of Historic and Cultural Resources.
[9][11] In 1970, Dodd was a founding member and a president of National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA).
[6] Elbert Mitchell was Dodd's business partner and they shared ownership in an apartment complex in Sacramento, which they built together.
[6] Dodd had several other business ventures; including the creation of the Urfab System, a prefabricated housing material panel, made from recycled product.