Wilson O. Brooks
*This date in 1925 celebrates the birth of Wilson O. Brooks, a Black Canadian officer, teacher, and civil rights advocate. Born in Windsor, Ontario, he was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Oliver Brooks.
He enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force in April of 1943 and trained at No. 5 Bombing and Gunnery School in Dafoe, Saskatchewan. Brooks was among the first Black commissioned officers in the RCAF to serve in a bomber squadron during WWII. In May of 1944, he earned the rank of Flying Officer at 19. Brooks went on to become the first Black school principal in Toronto.
A graduate of the University of Toronto, he was the first Black teacher hired by Toronto’s public schools. He eventually became the first Black principal in Toronto at Shaw Junior Public School and Glen Ames Junior Public School. In 1978, he and Dr. Daniel G. Hill founded the Ontario Black History Society (OBHS) was established. Its founders, including Dr. Daniel G. Hill and Brooks, petitioned the City of Toronto to formally proclaim February as Black History Month. (BHM).
A year later, in February 1979, the first formal celebration of BHM in the City of Toronto with a municipal proclamation took place. Wilson O. Brooks died in 1997.
