Cornell William Brooks named President and CEO of The NAACP

Cornell William Brooks

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) have announced that lawyer and activist Cornell William Brooks would become its new national president and CEO.

The selection of Brooks comes as the United States celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision by the Supreme Court which outlawed segregation in public schools, a lawsuit that was argued by the organization’s legal arm.

Brooks, 53, of Annandale, New Jersey, will become the organization’s 18th national president, replacing interim leader Lorraine Miller. Miller has been serving in that position since Benjamin Jealous ended his 5-year tenure last year.

In an interview with reporters, Brooks said he was looking forward to the work. “I am deeply humbled and honored to be entrusted with the opportunity to lead this powerful historic organization,” Brooks said. “In our fight to ensure voting rights, economic equality, health equity, and ending racial discrimination for all people, there is indeed much work to be done.”

Brooks said he was particularly humbled that his selection came around the Brown v. Board anniversary.

“As a graduate of both Head Start and Yale Law School, I am a beneficiary, an heir and a grandson if you will of Brown versus Board of Education,” Brooks said. “My life is the direct product, if you will, of the legacy of the blood, sweat and tears of the NAACP and so today I’m particularly mindful that the NAACP has made America what it is, and certainly made my life possible and we are all grateful heirs of that legacy.”

Brooks will be formally presented to the Baltimore-based organization’s members at its national convention in Las Vegas in July.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press