Civil rights activist. He served in the United States Army as a first lieutenant in World War II, winning a Bronze Star. Settling in Richmond after the war, he became frustrated as Virginia's white leaders prepared to resist school desegregation with a 1956 statewide referendum which, if passed, would allow state support of private schools and the closing of public schools. In an attempt to increase black voter registration, Brooks helped found the organization, Crusade for Voters, and became its executive secretary. In 1957, he became a field secretary for the NAACP in charge of Virginia's voter registration drive, and in 1958 he was named National Director of Registration and Voting for the NAACP, a post he would hold until 1973. Within a year, voter registration campaigns had been organized in every southern state except Alabama. On a local level, his leadership of the Crusade for Voters would reach its greatest success with the election of a black majority to the Richmond city council in 1977.
Civil rights activist. He served in the United States Army as a first lieutenant in World War II, winning a Bronze Star. Settling in Richmond after the war, he became frustrated as Virginia's white leaders prepared to resist school desegregation with a 1956 statewide referendum which, if passed, would allow state support of private schools and the closing of public schools. In an attempt to increase black voter registration, Brooks helped found the organization, Crusade for Voters, and became its executive secretary. In 1957, he became a field secretary for the NAACP in charge of Virginia's voter registration drive, and in 1958 he was named National Director of Registration and Voting for the NAACP, a post he would hold until 1973. Within a year, voter registration campaigns had been organized in every southern state except Alabama. On a local level, his leadership of the Crusade for Voters would reach its greatest success with the election of a black majority to the Richmond city council in 1977.
Bio by: Garver Graver
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