Enos Luther Brookes


Enos Luther Brookes was a chemist, academic, and activist for civil rights in the United States. He was born in Jamaica, then a British colony.

Early life and education

Born in Jamaica, his father was school teacher James M. Brookes and his mother Martha Brookes. He came to the United States in 1914.
He attended Tuskeegee Institute and his bachelor's degree from Lincoln University in 1923 where he was valedictorian. He received his masters in chemistry from Columbia University in 1928.

Academic work

Brookes served as a faculty member at Columbia University and was also a faculty member at Clark University. He was the head of the Department of Science at Clark University. He also worked at Alabama State University and at Florida A & M. He was a founder of Alpha Delta Alpha Scientific Society at Clark University. Professor Brookes in collaboration with Mr. Henry Lewis Van Dyke of Alabama State College wrote a syllabus for "Survey of the Physical Sciences" via a grant from the General Education Board of New York City. He is one of the Black Faces of Science on the North Carolina A & T mural.

Civic work

Brookes served as the President of the Atlanta branch of the NAACP. He spoke at a number of NAACP regional conferences. He was key in setting up a task force in dealing with internal conflicts that plagued the NAACP. He was a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity and founded the chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha at Clark University. He served on the Board of Directors of the Atlanta Tuberculosis Association.

Personal life

In 1928, he married historian Dr. Stella Lucille Brewer. He died of a heart attack in 1944.