Cornell William Brooks, president and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), will deliver the keynote address at Bentley University’s 30th annual celebration honoring Martin Luther King Jr. on Tuesday, January 26, 2016 from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.
“The Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast has become an important part of the fabric of this institution,” says Dr. Earl Avery, special assistant to the president and ombudsman at Bentley. “For thirty years it has allowed us to gather and celebrate our student leaders and to highlight the good work that is being done by so many in this community to create a more inclusive campus environment.”
In 2014, Brooks became the 18th person to serve as chief executive of the NAACP, whose members in the United States and worldwide are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities. As CEO, he works with the Association leadership and membership to build an NAACP that is multi-racial, multi-ethnic, multi-generational and one million members strong.
A longtime lawyer, human rights activist and fourth generation ordained minister, Brooks previously served as president and CEO of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, senior counsel for the Federal Communications Commission, executive director of the Fair Housing Council of Greater Washington and as a trial attorney with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
Brooks earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Jackson State University and a Master of Divinity from Boston University School of Theology. After seminary, Brooks earned a Juris Doctorate from Yale Law School.
To learn more about Bentley’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion click here.