Cornell William Brooks

Cornell William Brooks
President and CEO of the NAACP
In office
May 2014 – June 2017
Preceded byLorraine Miller (acting)
Succeeded byDerrick Johnson
Personal details
Born1961 (age 62–63)
El Paso, Texas, U.S.
EducationJackson State University (BA)
Boston University (MDiv)
Yale University (JD)

Cornell William Brooks (born 1961)[1] is an American lawyer and activist. He was chosen to be the president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in May 2014. He previously served as president of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice in Newark, New Jersey, and as executive director of the Fair Housing Council of Greater Washington.[2][3]

Brooks was formerly senior counsel with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), directing the FCC's Office of Communication Business Opportunities.[4] He also served as a trial attorney with the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law[4] and ran as the Democratic nominee for U.S. Congress for the 10th District of Virginia in 1998.[4] Brooks has served on the transition team for two New Jersey governors.[5]

  1. ^ Pitts, Jonathan (March 25, 2014). "New head of NAACP, a relative unknown, has deep civil rights background". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved September 7, 2014.
  2. ^ Holland, Jesse J. (March 25, 2014). "New NAACP leader: I'm Brown v. Board beneficiary". Associated Press. Archived from the original on May 21, 2014. Retrieved September 7, 2014.
  3. ^ Hassan, Carma (May 17, 2014). "NAACP names Cornell William Brooks as new president". CNN. Retrieved September 7, 2014.
  4. ^ a b c "Cornell William Brooks" (PDF). www.naacp.org/. NAACP. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 3, 2016. Retrieved September 7, 2014.
  5. ^ "Murphy Names 81 Advisers to Transition Team". Observer. November 13, 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2018.