STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA )

) RESOLUTION NO. 24-07

COUNTY OF NEWBERRY )

WHEREAS, The Newberry County Council wishes to express its appreciation for a life of distinguished public service, memorializing it in a manner appropriate to the level of service rendered, and to its significance in South Carolina’s history; and

WHEREAS, Israel Brooks, Jr. (1944-2007), born in Newberry County and educated in its public schools, was both a pioneer and a singular example in his chosen field of law enforcement; and

WHEREAS, in 1967 Israel Brooks, Jr., following honorable service in the United States Marine Corps, became the first African-American state trooper with the South Carolina Highway Patrol; and

WHEREAS, he was subsequently appointed as an instructor at the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy, and later served the South Carolina Highway Patrol in executive positions overseeing equal opportunity affairs, internal affairs and investigations, recruitment and promotions, retiring from that agency in 1994 with the rank of major; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Brooks was then named by U.S. Senator Ernest F. Hollings, and approved by the entire United States Senate, to serve in the capacity of U.S. Marshal, thereafter enjoying the longest tenure of any U.S. Marshal in South Carolina’s history; and

WHEREAS, beyond his retirement in 2002, he provided leadership and steadying influence to police departments in the South Carolina municipalities of Saluda and Allendale; and

WHEREAS, Israel Brooks Jr. was a pioneer in the advancement of African-Americans in South Carolina, a law enforcement official of extraordinary ability credentials, and an exemplary servant of the people of South Carolina;

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Newberry County Council requests that Newberry County’s State Legislative Delegation pursue, through the proper state agencies and officials, the re-naming of the interchange at S.C. Hwy. 121 and Interstate 26 as the Israel Brooks Jr. Interchange.

ADOPTED by the Newberry County Council in meeting duly assembled this 14th Day of November, 2007.

NEWBERRY COUNTY COUNCIL

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Henry B. Summer, Chairman

Attest:

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Susan Fellers, Clerk to Council