Hon. Dexter Brooks
Description:
Judge Dexter Brooks was born within the Lumbee community of Robeson County, N.C., in 1943. He begins by speaking about his experiences growing up in the racially divided town of Pembroke, N.C., and continues by speaking about his studies at N.C. State University. Judge Brooks voluntarily joined the U.S. Army and was deployed to Vietnam as a field artillery soldier. He received a graduate degree in mathematics from N.C. State University in 1971. He speaks about his status as the first Native American to graduate from UNC School of Law (1976). Judge Brooks discusses practicing law from 1976-1989 and his appointment by Governor Jim Martin to the N.C. Superior Court bench in Robeson County. He was the first Native American and Lumbee to serve the state in this capacity. In this interview, he also reflects on his work with Julian Pierce on voting rights projects prior to Pierce’s murder.
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