Dr. Hooks was born in Memphis in 1925 and attended Lemoyne College, taking pre-law courses. He also served in the Second World War and was promoted to staff sergeant once the war ended and before moving to Chicago to study law at DePaul University. Earning his J.D. in 1948, he returned to Memphis and soon became well known as one of the few black lawyers in the city at that time. A lifelong calling to the ministry strengthened after he joined Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and Dr. Hooks became an ordained Baptist minister. He also served as a criminal court judge in Shelby County and as the first black appointee to the Federal Communications Commission in Washington, D. C. prior to becoming executive director of the NAACP in 1977. He held the executive directorship position for 15 years.

To honor Dr. Hooks’ many years of leadership in the American Civil Rights Movement, the Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change was founded at the University of Memphis in 1996. The Institute is a nonprofit public policy research center that strives to support the urban research mission of the university through promoting an understanding of the legacy and significance of the Civil Rights Movement. It is one of several interdisciplinary institutes housed within the College of Arts and Sciences.  

The College of Arts and Sciences joins many others in congratulating Dr. Hooks on his outstanding achievement and honoring his many years of service.