James Blaylock grew up in a family of nine children on a family farm in Albany, Georgia. He was educated in the Dougherty County Public School System. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in business from Albany State University and a Master’s degree in business management from Georgia State University in Atlanta.

He served with the Marine Corps in Vietnam. He served as a local, state, regional, and National Commander of the Military Order of the Purple Heart, a past president of the Purple Heart Foundation, and a founding board member of the Georgia Veterans Leadership Program. He is a past chairman and two-term member of the Georgia Veterans Service Board, an appointment bestowed by two (2) successive Georgia governors.

Following employment as an Admissions Counselor at Albany State (College) University, James began a career working in the Prosthetics and Sensory Aids Service for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), a program specializing in the provision of therapeutic, rehabilitative, and adaptive equipment for Veterans who require external devices and implants to improve mobility, function and increased independence in activities of daily living. He is the first VA Recipient of the National Chief-of-the-Year-for-Prosthetics-Award and twice recipient of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs “Scissors Award” {for cutting red tape}; he managed a budget exceeding $157 million annually as the Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN-7) Program Manager. He was also a member of the VA’s Under Secretary of Health’s National Diversity Advisory Board. He retired from the VA in 2014.

In addition to the Military Order of the Purple Heart and the Purple Heart Foundation, James is a member of the American Legion, Disabled American Veterans, Marine Corps League, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Vietnam Veterans of America, Alpha Kappa Mu National Honor Society, Kappa Alpha Psi National Fraternity and National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.