NEWBERRY, S.C. — Dozens of people gathered in Newberry for the celebration and ribbon cutting of the U.S. Marshall Israel Brooks Jr. Park, a park that honors the first ever African American Highway Patrolman, Israel Brooks Jr, who joined in 1967.
The park is located at 2420 Holloway street in Newberry.
"Brooks endured many hardships. And insults as the first African American trooper, during a time of civil unrest stemming from racial segregation in the south, even through all of this Brooks maintained his personal integrity strength and character…he was also dedicated to the highway patrol's core principals," says Colonel Chris Williamson of the South Carolina Highway Patrol.
Most remember Brooks Jr. as a great man and mentor who not only faced challenges as being the first African-American man in the SC Highway Patrol, but as he helped others break the glass ceilings by hiring the first female trooper.
"He walked in and had an application for highway patrol and said here we're hiring women now, he threw it on the desk and said fill it out, and you tell Israel Brooks you say yes sir," says Lieutenant Catherine Anderson.
When he left SCHP, he became a U.S. Marshal for South Carolina in 1994, he passed away in 2007.
His legacy will live on in the hearts of those he touched and those in the Newberry community.
"As you may come here during the park on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon not only you will see African Americans in the park, you will see Hispanics, White, all races involved in doing recreation, right here in this park alone," says Carlton Kinard a Councilman for Newberry.
Kinard added the park features a new walking trail, basketball courts, and soccer fields. They also plan to install a community garden in the coming weeks.
The park will be open from 7 am -9 pm to the public.