[1][2][3] Rhodes' father was an African-American who served as a US soldier in the Philippines during World War II.

He was also employed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 1967, and served as a staff researcher for the Ford Foundation 1969-1970.

[7] After 1968 Rhodes served on a number of national commissions studying such diverse subjects as the causes of campus unrest and the need for new structures in higher education.

He was a member of the More Effective School Personnel Utilization (MESPU) Panel in the Office of Education from 1969-1970,[8] and a consultant to the President Nixon's Counsel from 1969–1970.

Rhodes' service on the President's Commission on Campus Unrest in 1970 brought him to nationwide attention.

Shortly after his appointment, Rhodes gave a controversial interview to Robert Reinhold of The New York Times in which he said "If the President's and Vice-President's statements are killing people, I want to know that" and that California Governor Ronald Reagan was "bent on killing people for his political gain.

He sought the Democratic party nomination for United States Senate in 1980, but lost substantially in the April, 1980 primary election to former Pittsburgh mayor Peter F. Flaherty.

[6][14] He was cited by Time Magazine as one of 200 new leaders in America and received the Americans for Democratic Action National Youth Award in 1971.