His father David died when he was young and was raised by his mother, Elsie, and stepfather George E. Joseph.
He played basketball through his undergraduate and captained the team at Boston University and received a bachelor's degree in Education in 1952.
During O'Bryant's first year at Northeastern in 1978, he was the Associate Dean of Administration before becoming the vice president of student affairs.
[citation needed] In 1977, O'Bryant became the first African American to be elected to the Boston School Committee in 75 years.
King suggested O'Bryant run for the committee in upcoming races because of his ideas and opinions.