John E. Brent was born in 1889 in Washington, D.C. Bro. Brent’s father, Charles Brent, is acknowledged as that city’s first black architect (The historic St. Luke’s Episcopal Church among others).
John graduated from the D.C. Public Schools and in 1904, enrolled at Tuskegee. He graduated in 1907 after taking a one-year architectural program. Returning to Washington, Bro. Brent taught school for two years before deciding to pursue architecture at Drexel in Philadelphia. He was awarded a full scholarship at Drexel and completed the course of studies in 1912.
Bro. Brent moved to Buffalo after his graduation from Drexel and in a relatively short time found employment in the Architectural firm of Max G. Beierl. He was the first African American architect in the city.
Bro. Brent was one of the founding members of the Buffalo Branch NAACP and its first president. He was a long time member of St. Philip’s Episcopal Church, serving on the Vestry for many years. In 1962, he received the Bishop’s Medal for meritorious service. He was also a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, initiated through Theta Sigma Chapter. His son, Bob, noted: “dad was not a pretentious person, he was very grassroots. There wasn’t an organization he wouldn’t join, if it was about something.???