97:), in one of the mot heavily Black districts in the city, Brookins organized an unsuccessful recall campaign. Undaunted, Brookins encouraged Bradley, a member of his congregation, to run for the Los Angeles City Council in 1963, Bradley was elected. Bradley became mayor a few years later. He was also an advisor to former U.S. Representative
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In 1959, Brookins became pastor of First A.M.E. Church in Los
Angeles, the city's oldest Black church and the domination's largest and most influential church in the West. He replaced Dr. J. D. Powell, who had led the congregation since 1952. It was under the leadership of Brookins that the church's
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Bishop
Brookins marched with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the South; helped start the political career of Tom Bradley, a five-term Los Angeles mayor; was a principal strategist in the Rev. Jesse Jackson's 1984 presidential campaign; and in 1990 prayed with Mayor Marion Barry of Washington
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After graduating from Payne, he received early assignments as a minister at various churches in Kansas including a stint in Topeka. This was around the time of the groundbreaking U.S. Supreme Court Case Brown vs. Board of
Education which challenged the doctrine of “separate but equal” in Topeka's
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Brookins, the pastor of Bethel AME Church in
Fontana, is the fifth woman to be elected to the AME episcopal level. She follows in the footsteps of her late father, the Right Rev. H. Hartford Brookins, who served decades as a AME bishop and became internationally known as a civil and human rights
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In 1972, he was elected bishop where he was assigned to the 17th
District which included Malawi, Rhodesia, Tanzania, Zaire, and Zambia. During his tenure in the African continent he helped build hundreds of homes and helped mediate many local disputes. In Rhodesia, Brookins was kicked out of the
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Later in life, his reputation was tarnished by accusations of financial impropriety. Although he was never formerly charged of any crime, he was given less favorable assignments later in his career. He retired in 2004. He died in Los
Angeles on May 22, 2012.
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As a community leader, Brookins was not shy about expressing his support or opposition to political candidates, voting initiatives, and other proposals impacting the Black community, such as school desegregation.
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When
Brookins announced his plans to build a new church, even members of his own congregation expressed doubts that it could come to fruition. His efforts were aided considerablely by philanthropist
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in appreciation of his help during his unsuccessful campaign for Mayor of Los
Angeles in 1965. An early contribution by Factor was instrumental in Brookins securing the land for the new structure.
347:... Bishop H. H. Brookins of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, said the present plan, which calls for less busing than originally proposed by a citizens committee, "compromises the law."
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After the Watts riots in 1965, Brookins was a key spokesperson for the black community, testifying before the various committees examining the unrest and its causes.
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In his dual mission, he blended the charisma of a fire-and-brimstone, street corner preacher with the charm and refinement of a skilled, platform orator.
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As the first Black president of an interracial ministerial council in
Wichita, Kansas, he helped make court-ordered school desegregation a reality.
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He briefly attended
Campbell College in Jackson, Mississippi. He continued his education in Ohio, where he obtained degrees at two colleges. At
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Rev. H. H. Brookins, formerly of Wichita, Kan., was installed at Eighth and Towne to replace Rev. Powell, who is awaiting evangelical papers.
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46:. He was the eighth of ten children born to Samuel and Lena (Holmes) Brookins. His parents were sharecroppers. He is the grandnephew of
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Brookins is survived by three children including a daughter, Francine Brookins, who was elected a bishop of the A.M.E. Church in 2021.
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Back in the United States, Brookins was later assigned to the 12 District which included Arkansas. While there, Brookins befriended
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In the early 1960s, he organized Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s first visit to Los Angeles which drew a crowd of over 60,000 people.
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was appointed to fill a vacancy in the 10th district of the Los Angeles City Council over sixteen Black candidates (including
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At First A.M.E., Brookins's influence grew, and he began taking a more active role in politics. In 1961, when a White person,
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country for opposing the White minority controlled government.
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361:"L.A. Native Francine Brookins Elected 141st AME Bishop"
250:"H. H. Brookins, Influential A.M.E. Bishop, Dies at 86"
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26:(June 8, 1925 – May 22, 2012) was an American
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169:. Los Angeles, California. pp. AA1, AA6
312:"Negroes May Try to Recall Hollingsworth,"
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162:"Pastor was influential black leader"
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290:. Los Angeles, California. p. 1
280:Mounts, Barbara (12 November 1959).
426:People from Yazoo City, Mississippi
202:Simmonds, Yussuf J. (23 May 2012).
32:African Methodist Episcopal Church
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283:"AME newspaper airs L.A. charges"
159:Trounson, Rebecca (24 May 2012).
247:Martin, Douglas (25 May 2012).
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327:Dart, John (5 March 1977).
316:September 3, 1961, page D-7
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406:American Methodist bishops
59:Payne Theological Seminary
367:. Los Angeles, California
210:. Los Angeles, California
44:Yazoo City, Mississippi
20:Hamel Hartford Brookins
55:Wilberforce University
365:Los Angeles Sentinel
257:. New York, New York
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91:Joe E. Hollingsworth
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95:Tom Bradley
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390:Categories
371:31 October
341:5 November
294:5 November
261:31 October
214:1 November
173:31 October
136:References
378:advocate.
38:Biography
30:of the
128:Family
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