Sumter native, now serving in Maryland state Senate, honored by city and elected officials during visit

When Sen. Ben Brooks Sr., of Maryland's Legislative District 10 in Baltimore County, visited his hometown last month, he was honored by the City of Sumter and several elected members serving Sumter.

Brooks grew up in Sumter, attended Sumter schools and then served in the U.S. Army, including serving in the Vietnam War. Later he was a businessman, working for Seagram and then founding his own business, B & R Brooks Professional Tax Service, which his son, Ben Jr., now owns.

Brooks' siblings invited him to a homecoming event in Sumter on Sunday, Dec. 15, to visit family, his church, community members and friends.

During the event with more than 200 people who gathered in the Fellowship Hall of Trinity Missionary Baptist Church, he was presented citations by S.C. House Rep. J. David Weeks and Sumter County Councilman Carlton Washington. The City of Sumter gave Brooks a medallion and citation and declared Dec. 15, 2024, as Sen. Benjamin T. Brooks Sr. Day.

Weeks made the same declaration for Dec. 15.

"It is not lost on me that I have been fortunate enough to matriculate from the 'outhouse' to the 'statehouse.' It is not lost on me that the hands that once picked cotton can now pick candidates! It is not lost on me that our struggles today are just as significant as they were back in the day! It is not lost on me that I/we had a Mom whose firmness was manifested from her Godliness in her efforts to keep her 13 kids on the straight and narrow," Brooks said. "What is also not lost on me is that there are people in this room who were an integral part of this journey. I'm talking about family friends, associates, in-laws and outlaws. I might be pliable on policy, but I don't vacillate on values. I might moderate on methodology, but I am immovable on integrity. I might be eclectic on issues, but I am ecclesiastical when it comes to ethics. The degree that someone needs to be successful is a degree of self-confidence, a sense of self-worth and a pinch of drive."

The celebratory event included three hours of festivities, feasting and fellowshipping.

Brooks was born and raised in Sumter, the fourth child and first son of Thomas Brooks Jr. and Hester Louise Lane Brooks.

In his youth, Brooks attended St. Michael and Delaine elementary schools, Ebenezer High School and South Carolina State College/University.

After graduating from high school, he worked a year in his hometown before enlisting into the U.S. Army and serving a stint in Vietnam. He entered South Carolina State College as a veteran and earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting. After working in the business sector for Seagram for a few years, he founded B & R Brooks Professional Tax Service, which he operated for more than 44 years. He continues to be a mentor to his son, Ben Jr., who now owns the business.

He entered the political arena in 2014 and served eight years in the Maryland House of Delegates for Legislative District 10 and has served two years in the Maryland Senate. His efforts have included bills allowing education, energy and policing reformations to occur. Brooks was named "Senator of the Year" in 2023 by the League of Conservative Voters, acknowledging his sponsorship of Senate Bill 613; in March 2024, he sponsored Senate Bill 1026, impacting the state Board of Education. Before serving in the Maryland Legislature, he was the first Black Liquor Board commissioner in Baltimore County. He serves on and in leadership roles on many boards and commissions by mayoral and government appointments as well as by election.

"I am profoundly indebted to those who have impacted my life throughout my many years in South Carolina. Our hometown (Sumter) has always been a beacon of resilience, community and hope. It shaped who I am and gave me the foundation to advocate for the issues that matter most to us, (i.e. health care, sustainable energy solutions, livable wages and investments in education)."

Those at the celebratory event ranged in age from his 92-year-old maternal aunt, Maggie Lane of Sumter, to his 8-year-old grand-niece, Farrah Brooks, who flew with her father, Kario Brooks, from Minneapolis, Minnesota, to serve as a junior hostess. People of various walks of life attended the event, including Brooks' high school social studies teacher, James Gary, friends and neighbors from first grade and other Sumterites he hosted when they were in the Washington/Maryland areas, members of the Sumter Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind and The TMBC National Baptist Convention-goers.

Brooks and his wife of 52 years, Irene Theresa Howard Brooks, formerly of Summerville, are the parents of three adult children and seven grandchildren.