Julia Evangeline Brooks (June, 1882 – November 24, 1948) was an incorporator of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, the first sorority founded by African-American women. The sorority has continued to generate social capital for nearly 100 years. Having earned a B.A. degree at Howard University and M.A. at Columbia University, Brooks was a devoted educator for the rest of her life. She worked most of her life at the academic, prestigious Dunbar High School in Washington, DC. She was an assistant principal there for 26 years, and also served as dean of girls. These were unusual positions of authority for any woman of that time. Brooks inspired generations of students.

Early life

Julia was one of ten children born to

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and Eva Holmes Brooks in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

. Her father, a slave as a child, grabbed at the chance for education, earning B.A. and theology degrees from Lincoln University in

Oxford, Pennsylvania Oxford is a borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. Oxford is the closest town to Lincoln University. The population was 5,733 at the 2020 census. History The borough was once called Oxford Crossing and Oxford Village during the ...

in 1873. He became the pastor of Nineteenth Street Baptist Church in Washington, DC. During her youth, Julia attended public schools in

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Julia was enrolled at Sumner Magruder Elementary School and

M Street High School M Street High School, also known as Perry School, is a historic former school building located in the Northwest Quadrant of Washington, D.C. It has been listed on the District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites since 1978 and it was listed on ...

. This was the academic high school for African Americans in Washington, named in 1916 for the poet Paul Laurence Dunbar. It had an illustrious faculty and high standards, and attracted the best students from Washington and other cities in the South. After graduating high school, Julia Brooks enrolled in

Miner Normal School Normal School for Colored Girls (now known as University of the District of Columbia) established in Washington, D.C., in 1851 as an institution of learning and training for young African-American women, especially to train teachers. As Miner Norm ...

, a training school for

teachers A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. wh ...

. She taught primary school for a few years, then Brooks went on to

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a Private university, private, University charter#Federal, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classifie ...

for more education. It was one of the top two historically black colleges in the nation, at a time when only 1/3 of 1% of African Americans and 5% of whites of eligible age attended any college.

College life and incorporation of Alpha Kappa Alpha

Brooks was one of several members who were early supporters of the idea of incorporating Alpha Kappa Alpha to provide for its future expansion. As a result, Brooks, Nellie Quander, Norma Boyd, Nellie Pratt Russell, Minnie B. Smith and Ethel Jones Mowbray incorporated Alpha Kappa Alpha on January 29, 1913. Brooks and the other incorporators, were listed by name in Article Four of the sorority's Certificate of Incorporation. After incorporation, Julia served as treasurer of the directorate until 1923.

Career and later life

After graduation from Howard University with a B.A. degree in 1916, Brooks was qualified to teach at the high school level. She taught

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

for six years at Washington D.C.'s prestigious Dunbar High School. Brooks went on to graduate study during summers at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in New York City and received her

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

in 1928. Brooks devoted her life to education. Beginning in 1922, Julia Brooks was promoted to assistant principal at Dunbar High School, the academic high school for African Americans. This was an unusual position of authority for any woman and made her prominent in the Washington educational community. Brooks served in this position for 26 years, through the rest of her life. She was also appointed Dean of Girls. Because the District was run as part of the Federal government,

African-American teachers African-American teachers educated African Americans and taught each other to read during slavery in the South. People who were enslaved ran small schools in secret, since teaching those enslaved to read was a crime (see Slave codes). Meanwhile, i ...

in the public schools were paid on the same scale as whites. The city attracted outstanding teachers.Thomas Sowell
The Education of Minority Children
Retrieved December 12, 2007. Brooks directly assisted six nieces and nephews with obtaining a college education by support, taking them to special events, tutoring when necessary, and contributing financially. She was a charter member of Xi Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha in

, established in 1923. Julia Brooks wrote an early history of the sorority, which she gave at the 1923 Boulé in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. At Founders' Day at Xi Omega on January 30, 1924, the history was presented as a lecture. Julia Brooks died on November 24, 1948.

References

External links

Julia Evangeline Brooks Biography at Virginia Commonwealth University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Julia Evangeline Howard University alumni 1882 births 1948 deaths People from New Orleans Alpha Kappa Alpha founders African-American women academics American women academics 20th-century American educators Lincoln University (Pennsylvania) alumni African-American academics 20th-century American women educators 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American educators