Note: Byron Brooks is a senior in Ferris State University’s Music and Entertainment Business program. He made national news in 2018 when he accepted an offer to attend Ferris over offers from Columbia, Harvard, Howard and Southern Illinois Universities, as well as the University of Michigan. Brooks had been struggling with homelessness as a student at Henry Ford Community College, before faculty and staff at the school helped him access support to obtain housing and transportation resources. Brooks has taken a central role in multiple public and student advocacy programs in his time at Ferris, including work through his non-profit organization, From the Hood for the Hood, as well as through work for local organizations including Big Rapids’ temporary housing shelter, Our Brother’s Keeper. He organized a June 3 “Enough Is Enough” protest on Ferris’ Big Rapids campus, at which contributors from students to local officials shared their thoughts, and helped launch the ongoing Big Rapids Social Equity Initiative.
By Byron Brooks
I’d like to begin with a story:
There was an owner of an apple tree, and the owner allowed three different people to pick fruit to eat, which is Diversity.
The first of the three was tall, the second average in height, and the third short in stature. The tallest was easily able to enjoy fruit from the middle of the tree. The second had to get on tiptoe just to reach the fruit at the bottom. The third could not reach any, even with great effort. So the owner gave each individual a crate to stand upon, which is Inclusion.
The tallest was then able to reach the best fruit at the top of the tree, and the second was able to reach the middle of the tree, but the third could reach only the lowest-hanging fruit. The owner of the tree became perplexed and said, “I’ve brought Diversity and Inclusion, what more can be asked of me?” And he heard the wind whisper, “Equity.”
What is equity? (As a student, I love when I have the opportunity to ask the questions, instead of vice-versa.)
Equity is understanding that, as good as it may have made the owner of the tree feel or look, diversity and inclusion alone don’t level the playing field.
Statistics would say that, by the age of 18, I should’ve either been dead or in jail. In my 25 years of life, I have overcome bullying, socioeconomic barriers, and even homelessness for around two years while attending Henry Ford College in Dearborn, Michigan. But, thanks to God, I am now an honor student at Ferris State University, in the Music and Entertainment Business Program. Most importantly, however, I am a proud black brother from the Hood of Detroit. And, as “MoSoul the Hood Preacher,” I am an author, preacher, musician, mentor, public speaker, social entrepreneur, activist and agent of change.
I was born Byron DeMarco Brooks on April 9, 1995, in Detroit, Michigan. With my mother being in prison, I, not knowing my biological father, was raised by my great-grandparents, the late Roscoe and JoEsther Corner.
Byron Brooks
My “Papa,” as I affectionately called my great-grandfather, was, for a person with only a grade-school education, the wisest man that I’ve known. The oldest of 10 siblings, he dropped out of school at an early age to help support his family.
Eventually, he moved to the city of Detroit, where he met his wife, my “Granny.” He ended up working and retiring from Eaton Steel. Following his retirement, he became a jitney and also a landlord of a couple properties in the city of Detroit. He instilled in me the importance of faith, raised me within the Baptist Church and was a very dedicated deacon up until his death. I still remember, every morning before school would start, my papa and I would have bible study. My granny, a florist and musician, instilled in me the love of music and the use of it to express myself, by teaching me how to play the piano when I was only four.
Please allow me to go on the record as saying that every good attribute I have is because of them. Honestly, although I know that they are now a part of my cloud of witnesses, I would have given anything to have had them be physically present when, on July 30, 2017, I preached my initial sermon and was licensed as a Minister of The Gospel at the very church they raised me in, Dexter Avenue Baptist Church of Detroit.
Being taught my history by my granny and papa ignited the flame known as activism in my belly; so did sleeping in parks, abandoned buildings and bus stops. Surviving for months at a time on nothing but bread and water. Sleeping in the snow because, by the time I would get out of class, shelters would be closed, so I would lie in inches of snow with my body rapidly shaking, as I would get so cold that I felt warm again. Being ostracized and critiqued because I didn’t fit the physical description of what others conceived a preacher is supposed to look like. Being told that I was nothing and wasn’t even worth the dirt beneath my feet. All of these chapters in my life helped ignite my flame.
I am a firm believer that we are the change we seek, and that it takes us taking a leap of faith to walk into our purpose of igniting social change in society, for the betterment of our brothers and sisters within the world. A scripture from which I draw daily inspiration as I walk within my purpose as an activist is Psalm 118:6: “The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” Or, translated for Millennials, “I’m not worried about what life or society may throw at me because I know that God’s got me.”
In June, a few Big Rapids residents decided to organize a protest in response to the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. However, the same day that these organizers posted the event on Facebook, they received backlash, death threats and pressure to cancel it. Personally, I felt that canceling would give the enemy known as racism the victory. So, that same night, I made the decision to lead the effort, grabbed the baton and organized what ended up being a very successful peaceful protest on campus, with only a couple of days to go. As soon as I grabbed that baton, I, too, received death threats and negative feedback, but I looked at these as even more signs that we desperately needed the protest. I reached out to some of my mentors at Ferris State University, and with their words of wisdom, the protest was a success.
Brooks speaks at the Enough Is Enough protest on Ferris’ Big Rapids campus on June 3.
For anyone who may wonder what kept the protest peaceful, the answer is very simple: It was a protest. Sadly, anarchists and other individuals have turned many protests across our nation into riots. Knowing this from my experience of actually chasing rioters away from other protests, I established strategic logistics to keep such individuals from twisting the narrative of our protest to fit their own.
Since then, I’ve had the honor to organize several other peaceful protests across Michigan. One of the more notable ones I had the honor to help organize was the recreation of the Selma March at Belle Isle, in which around 1,000 individuals marched, including a Ferris State alum and Michigan State trooper. In addition, I have reached out to and worked with city officials and concerned citizens across the state to establish community forums, public policy and other initiatives to help dismantle the systemic racism in our society.
My non-profit organization, From the Hood For The Hood, is a 501c3 dedicated to developing, empowering and engaging young people and communities that are often overlooked. The term “hood” is derived from my ministry’s deep connection to neighborhoods. Many have a mindset that the goal is to “make it out of the hood.” I strongly disagree. I believe that members of the hood have a social duty to build within the hood and help it acquire the same resources as its suburban counterparts. We also fight homelessness and serve as a training catalyst for social justice. We’ve initiated a GoFundMe campaign with a goal of raising $1 million to help dismantle systemic racism in the U.S.
Efforts in our multiphase campaign include establishing university scholarships with a focus on providing equity for black students; providing legal support and bail through our partnership with the Innocence Project; and creating free legal clinics, affinity spaces and recourse centers in urban communities. To learn more about or support our work, please visit us at https://gf.me/u/x7w4h5.
To my fellow Bulldogs, I leave you with a quote from our founder, Woodbridge Ferris: “Schools must deal with fundamentals, must build a foundation and furnish a plan for a possible human structure of beauty, strength and service.”