Stella Brewer Brookes


Stella Brewer Brookes was born on January 22, 1903 to J.H and Minnie Brewer and was five out of six children. In 1923 she graduated valedictorian and magna cum laude from Wiley College located in Wiley, Texas. In the following year she became a member of Clark College’s faculty and in 1928. She married Dr. Enos Luther Brookes, a chemistry Professor and the Director of the Science Department at Clark College at the time. They were married in the Crogman Chapel, which is located at Clark University. Two years later, Stella Brookes, who was ranked amongst the top five in her class, earned a Master of Arts in English Literature from the University of Michigan. Two years following she was chosen to be the “Bronze Woman of the Year in Education” in Atlanta by Iota Phi Lambda sorority.
During Dr. Stella Brewer Brookes’ years of teaching at Clark College, as an English professor, she decided to write a book which would later be published as, “Joel Chandler Harris, Folklorist.” She did much of her research at Emory University, located in Atlanta, Georgia. As well as at Carnegie Institute of Technology, and the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. After the completion of her book, Dr. Brookes’ sorority, Zeta Phi Beta, threw her a chapel program in her honor. After giving her speech on her book, the President of the Student Government, William Breeding, presented a gift to her from the student body and John Carter, member of the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity, gave her a bouquet of roses as a gift from the student body. Dr. Stella Brewer Brookes retired from Clark College after 45 years and received an Honorary Doctor of Letters degree from the college.
Dr. Stella Brewer Brookes died in November 1993.

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