Enos Luther Brook[e]s was born in 1891, in Waltham Abbey in St. Ann (a little inland between Rio Bueno and Discovery Bay) not in Sav-la-Mar as is sometimes suggested. His father was James Morris[on] Brook[e]s, a schoolmaster - one of that incredible generation of Jamaican country schoolteachers who established the educational system of the island. He had at least two brothers and two sisters, all born in Westmoreland.
In numerous locations online James Brooks is given the title 'Professor' but he was just an ordinary Jamaican country 'schoolmaster' - just as honorable a title!
In numerous locations online James Brooks is given the title 'Professor' but he was just an ordinary Jamaican country 'schoolmaster' - just as honorable a title!
There seems to be no information on Luther Brooks' education in Jamaica, though his schoolmaster father presumably made sure that he received a good one. One report says he worked as a young man as a bookkeeper at Retrieve estate in Westmoreland, while another suggests that he spent some time in Central America, before going to study at the Tuskegee Institute in 1914/5.
A recent find online is an account of Roaring River Cave in Westmoreland, apparently written before 1914 by E. Luther Brookes.
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Tuskegee Institute
It seems that Luther Brooks' early academic career was in the field of theology; when he came back to Jamaica for a brief stay in August 1926 the Gleaner reported 'Young Brooks from his earliest days gave promise of being a brilliant man, he proceeded to Tuskegee Institute and finished his Theological Course there in 1918 at the head of his class of 120.'
In the same report he is referred to as the 'Rev. E. Luther Brooks'. Although he continued his theological studies at Lincoln University, and was a member of one of the branches of the Methodist church until his death, I have not seen him referred to elsewhere as an ordained minister of the church.
In the same report he is referred to as the 'Rev. E. Luther Brooks'. Although he continued his theological studies at Lincoln University, and was a member of one of the branches of the Methodist church until his death, I have not seen him referred to elsewhere as an ordained minister of the church.
Lincoln University
Enos Luther Brookes at Lincoln University.
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Alpha Phi Alpha (ΑΦΑ) is the first Black, Inter-Collegiate Greek-Lettered fraternity. It was founded on December 4, 1906 at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.
The fraternity has over 290,000 members and has been open to men of all races since 1940. Currently, there are more than 730 active chapters in the Americas, Africa, Europe, the Caribbean, and Asia. Members of Alpha Phi Alpha include Jamaican Prime Minister Norman Manley, Nobel Prize winner Martin Luther King, Jr., Olympian Jesse Owens, Justice Thurgood Marshall, United Nations Ambassador Andrew Young, Singer Lionel Richie and Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson. |
E. Luther Brookes played a very active role in
the life of Lincoln University in his years there.
LINCOLN UNIVERSITY HERALD
JULY-AUGUST, 1923 COLLEGE COMMENCEMENT With Rev. Calvin C. Hays, D.D., ex-Moderator of the General Assembly, of Johnstown, Pa., and Dr. George Cleveland Hall, '86, of Chicago, as speakers, the college commencement on Tuesday, June 5th, was one of the most interesting and successful that has been held in years. The graduating class of forty-four young men, was the largest in the history of the institution and was notable for its high quality as well as for quantity. Visitors from far and near and a large delegation of Alumni filled the commencement hall and listened with close attention to the addresses by students and visitors. E. R. Ferguson delivered the Latin Salutatory, E. Luther Brookes the Valedictory, and F. H. Davis and M. B. Tolson were the other student speakers. The prize for intercollegiate debating was given to E. L. Brookes, of the West Indies. |
The Afro-American, April 15, 1944
Clark Prof. Dies of Heart Attack
ATLANTA, Ga., (ANP). -- Funeral services for Prof. E. Luther Brookes, head of the science department of Clark College here, who died of a heart attack, were held in the college chapel, Monday, with his wife, Mrs. Stella Brower Brookes, delivering the principal eulogy.
A graduate of Tuskegee Institute, Lincoln University and Columbia, where he received his master's degree in chemistry and had completed the requirements for his doctorate, Professor Brookes was a native of Jamaica, coming to America in 1914.
He was president of the Atlanta NAACP Branch, member of the board of directors, Atlanta Tuberculosis Association; member of the Central Methodist Church and the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity.