The death of the Rev. Dr. Benjamin L. Hooks is a clarion call to reinvigorate our support for the disadvantaged and underrepresented in our society. Hooks, a lawyer, judge, and executive secretary of the largest civil rights organization in the country, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), was a stalwart defender of the so-called least of these and a stanchion against systemic oppression and injustice as well as personal prejudice and xenophobia. His receipt of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest award in the land, is a fitting testimonial to his persistent battle to "let justice roll down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream."
Hooks was born in 1925 in Memphis, Tennessee, to a prosperous family whose livelihood was photography. Hooks was taught hard work, discipline, and self-respect at an early age, and these were demonstrated in his life through academic achievement, military service, ordained ministry, and time on the bench. As he ascended professionally in his life despite the strictures of Jim Crow segregation, he never forgot about folks locked in the poorhouse and suffering the indignities of structural racism and the malaise of social ostracism. That is why he left his position as a commissioner with the Federal Communications Commission to become the executive secretary and CEO of the NAACP in 1977. He was able to revitalize the historic organization and had doubled the membership by the time he resigned in 1992.
Not enough has been written about this great man, who did a lot to continue the struggle against inequality while encouraging young African Americans in particular, and all Americans in general, to become the best persons they can be through hard work, discipline, and self-respect. What goes around, comes around. Thank you, Dr. Hooks!
