Avery Franklin Brooks was born on October 2, 1948, in Evansville, Indiana, to a family with a rich musical heritage. His maternal grandfather, Samuel Travis Crawford, was a talented tenor who graduated from Tougaloo College in Mississippi in 1901. Crawford embarked on a national tour in the 1930s, singing with the esteemed Delta Rhythm Boys.
Brooks, too, is musically inclined, having honed his skills on the jazz piano and even performed as the renowned baritone, actor, and scholar Paul Robeson in the play "Paul Robeson". He took center stage as the lead in the opera "X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X" by A. Anthony Davis and portrayed the characters of Theseus and Oberon in Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" at Washington's Arena Stage.
Long associated with Rutgers University, Brooks made history as its first Black MFA graduate. Furthermore, he served as the National Black Arts Festival's (NBAF) Artistic Director throughout the 1990s in Atlanta, Georgia. As a multifaceted individual, Brooks is an actor, activist, musician, director, and educator of immense stature.
In an interview, Brooks shared his passion for empowering others through his work with NBAF and his performances, stating, "If I were a carpenter, I'd find a way to empower using that skill. I'm using as much as God has given—my mind, my voice, my heart, my art forms. This is the highest form of expression on the planet from God, to me, to you."
