The state of New Jersey has facilitated the growth of countless actors, activists, musicians, directors and educators. For example, multi-talented star Avery Brooks, encompassing all five traits in one. Brooks has accomplished a great number of things in his lifetime, but his dedication to preserving African American culture is especially noteworthy.
Avery Franklin Brooks was born in Evansville, Indiana on October 2, 1948. His father, Samuel, was a union official and tool and die maker; his mother, Eva Lydia, was a choral conductor and music instructor who was among the first African American women to earn a master’s degree in music at Northwestern University. Brooks’s maternal grandfather, Samuel Travis Crawford, was a tenor who toured the country singing with the Delta Rhythm Boys throughout the 1930s. As such, Brooks grew up around music, leading to his future career in the performing arts.
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All That Jazz
The Brooks family moved to Gary, Indiana when Avery was eight-years-old, after his father had been laid off. In Gary, he and his family continued their musical endeavors; Avery played jazz piano and even performed as the great baritone, actor and scholar Paul Robeson in the eponymous play “Paul Robeson.”
After graduating from high school, Brooks attended Indiana University and Oberlin College before eventually completing his Bachelor of Arts; he earned the latter, plus a Master of Fine Arts, at Rutgers University in 1976. In fact, he became the first African American to receive an MFA in acting and directing from Rutgers.
Brooks began his professional acting career in the early 1980s, appearing on an episode of American Playhouse. A thriving television career followed, being a favorite on Spenser: For Hire before his own spin-off series, A Man Called Hawk.
The Final Frontier
In 1993, Brooks was cast as Commander Benjamin Sisko on the hit science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, in which he co-starred for the show’s entire seven seasons. Brooks even appeared in popular films such as American History X, The Big Hit and 15 Minutes.
Brooks served as Artistic Director for the National Black Arts Festival — in association with Rutgers University — from 1993 to 1996. The festival celebrates African American culture as well as people of African descent, and continues today.
Brooks has also used his talents and experiences as a way to teach young, up-and-coming performing artists. He graduated from Rutgers as part of both their Livingston College and Mason Gross School of the Arts; afterward, in 1976, he accepted a position as an Associate Professor of Theatre Arts with tenure; presently, he is a full professor.
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