Collyn Robinson, Multimedia Managing Editor

The Afro-American Cultural Center at Yale officially welcomed new Assistant Director Byron Brooks on Monday, Feb. 5 — just in time for the Af-Am House’s Black History Month programming. Brooks is taking on the role after it was vacant for over a year. The role is an important one, with Brooks responsible for overseeing daily operations and supporting students. 

“Service plays a big role within my life, within my walk,” Bryon told the News. 

Brooks added that he is guided by the Zulu proverb Ubuntu, which translates to “I am because we are.” 

Brooks, an educator and activist, hails from Detroit, Michigan. He was raised by his great-grandparents and attributes much of who he is today to the family that raised him. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Ferris State University and a master of arts in Diversity and Social Justice in Higher Education from the University of Michigan. Before coming to Yale he worked as a Community Engagement Coordinator, Anti-Racist Program Facilitator & Instructor at the University of Michigan and as Assistant Director of Residential Life at the College of Wooster. 

As an educator, he worked to create anti-racist and social justice education and curriculum across the state of Michigan and at the University of Michigan, creating leadership development and student engagement curricula. He has experience as a teacher and professor and is also a licensed minister. Faith has played an important role in his life, Brooks said.

Brooks is also the founder of a nonprofit organization called From the Hood For the Hood, which is dedicated to fighting homelessness and promoting community engagement throughout Michigan and the country. Brooks himself was unhoused for part of his college career and started the non-profit as a way to support those going through similar experiences. 

Because of his extensive non-profit work, Brooks was asked to lead the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service for the Biden Administration and received the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award from President Joe Biden. 

At Yale, Brooks said he is excited to “pour into both the current and next generation of change-makers.” He added that he is a firm believer that young people can be the change they seek in the world, something that he emphasized at the “Meet the AD Lunch” hosted on Feb. 17. He spoke about wanting to empower students to be their best selves, saying “oftentimes people want to wait for the next Dr. King, the next Malcolm” but that people can be the change that they want to see. Brooks said he believes that everyone has the power to “dismantle systems of inequity and replace them with equity, love, and justice” by being their best selves. 

Brooks was drawn to Yale for several reasons, primarily because of the students. He said he saw “the opportunity to pour into” the students and our energy. He also wanted to step outside of his comfort zone and be “poured into” as well, both career-wise and personally. He shared that the Af-Am House’s “Reclaiming Our Expressions” Black Arts Showcase in particular warmed his heart because he was able to see students being “unapologetically themselves.” Brooks shared his own talents and creativity with the Af-Am House Community at the Showcase, where he performed a spoken-word poem and a selection of music on the piano. 

Brooks said that he also loves how the Afro-American Cultural Center is centered specifically on the Black and African Diasporas and has been enjoying his first weeks settling in. Since the Af-Am House is a cultural center for Black people rather than a multicultural center, it helps him feel like he’s “walking more within his purpose,” he said. 

He shared that the Af-Am House already feels like a home away from home for him and a safe haven for him to be “unapologetically me.” 

Brooks has an open-door policy, inviting students to come introduce themselves to him whenever he is in the office. He said that he is open to hearing any and all new ideas that students have and hopes to amplify student voices across campus. 

Alejandro Rojas ’26 said that he loves “how available and visible Byron has already been in our community” and that he cannot wait to get to know Brooks more. 

Brooks is also excited about ideas of his own, including a book club that he hopes to start titled Radical Reflections — a space where students would come together to read and discuss literature from the African Diaspora. 

For Stephanie Owusu ’24, Brooks “lives up to that excitement with the energy he brings.”

“[I noticed] an excitement about him coming to campus,” Owusu said.

Owusu said she especially appreciated how Brooks introduced himself through his art at the Black History Month Showcase. She said she hopes that he will continue to “bring populations that we might not see as much at the House” and that he has already brought positive energy.

The Afro-American Cultural Center is located at 211 Park St.