Dates

• Existence: May 3, 1932 -

Biography

Alvin L. Brooks (May 3, 1932 - ) is a political and civil rights leader working in Kansas City, Missouri. He was born in North Little Rock, Arkansas, later moving to Kansas City as a child. From 1954-1964 he served as a police officer and, later, a detective for the Kansas City Police Department (KCPD). In the mid-1960s he joined the Division of Urban Education as Coordinator of Parent, Student, and Community Interpretation. In 1968, following the uprisings after the death of Martin Luther King, Jr., Brooks was appointed to organize and then lead the Kansas City Human Relations Department, making him the first Black person to be a department Director in Kansas City government history. In 1972 he was appointed Assistant City Manager. In 1977 he formed AdHoc Group Against Crime, a social intermediary nonprofit organization. He was elected to City Council in 1999, serving the 6th District At-Large. He was re-elected in 2003 and named Mayor Pro-Tem. In 2010 Brooks was appointed to the KCPD Board of Police Commissioners. For his work in public service, he has been honored by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), President George H.W. Bush, the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, and others.

Source: https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/alvin-brooks