Reverend '''Billie Joe ({{Infobox Biography| subject_name =B. J.) Brooks''' was president of the Pensacola chapter of the | image_name =| image_size =| image_caption =| date_of_birth =[[NAACPNovember 26]] in December , [[19741935]] when black motorist | place_of_birth =| date_of_death =[[Wendel BlackwellFebruary 15]] was shot and killed by an , [[Escambia County Sheriff's Deputy1998]]. | place_of_death =Pensacola| occupation =| religion =| spouse =Lucille Brooks, along with | parents =[[SCLCJohn B. Brooks]] leaders [[H| children =| signature =| signaturesize =}}The Reverend '''Billie Joe (B. J. K) Brooks, Sr. Matthews]] and ''' ([[Otha Leverette1935]], led a -[[Blackwell demonstrations|series of demonstrations1998]] early the next year that culminated in ) was a Pensacola [[February 24civil rights]] confrontation in which 47 people were arrested for unlawful assemblyleader, including two-time president of the three men. Brooks and Matthews were later charged with felony extortion and convicted on [[June 10NAACP]]Pensacola branch, and pastor of the [[1975Greater Mount Lily Baptist Church]].
{{bio-stub}}In December [[1974]], when black motorist [[Wendel Blackwell]] was shot and killed by an [[Escambia County Sheriff's Deputy]], Brooks urged [[Escambia County Sheriff]] [[Royal Untreiner]] to suspend the deputy pending a full investigation. When Untreiner refused, Brooks led a [[Blackwell demonstrations|series of demonstrations]] early the next year, along with local [[SCLC]] leaders [[H. K. Matthews]] and [[Otha Leverette]], that culminated in a [[February 24]] confrontation in which 47 people were arrested for unlawful assembly, including the three men. Brooks and Matthews were later charged with additional counts of felony extortion and convicted on [[June 10]], [[1975]].
In [[1996]], Brooks accused deputies with the [[Escambia County Sheriff's Office]] of using excess force in killing a 15-year-old boy who pointed an empty shotgun at two undercover officers posing as pizza-delivery men. In [[1997]], he helped derail a proposal to rename [[Bayfront Parkway]] and [[Main Street]] after [[Wikipedia:Martin Luther King, Jr.|Martin Luther King]], feeling the street's proximity to the [[Main Street Wastewater Treatment Plant]] would be undignified to Dr. King's legacy. Instead Brooks pushed to rename [[A Street]], which runs through a predominantly black neighborhood, after the slain civil rights leader, but failed to gain sufficient support. (A portion of [[Alcaniz Street]] was eventually renamed [[Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive]].) Also in 1997, Brooks supported two black [[City of Pensacola Parks & Recreation]] workers who were fired after an altercation with white [[Pensacola Police Officer]]s outside a community center. Brooks passed away on [[February 15]], [[1998]], at the age of 62. Reverend [[Michael Johnson]] said of him, "He had a burning desire to help people. Like most people that take on that kind of leadership, even if it meant sometimes sacrificing, he would do it."<ref>Obituary. ''Palm Beach Post'', February 19, 1998.</ref> The local [[NAACP]] chapter has established a scholarship in his honor. ==References=={{reflist}} [[Category:Civil rights activists|Brooks, BJ]] [[Category:NAACP|Brooks, BJ]] [[Category:African-American religious leaders|Brooks, BJ]] [[Category:Baptists|Brooks, BJ]]