The family moved to Memphis when Dr. Hooks was four years old.

“Crossroads to Freedom” — Rhodes College’s digital archive of materials recounting stories of  the civil rights era in Memphis — includes a segment in which Dr. Hooks details her experiences.

Dr. Hooks graduated from Booker T. Washington High School, where her principal, Blair T. Hunt, had a profound effect on her thinking about the importance of education for African-American students.

During the “Crossroads to Freedom” segment, Dr. Hooks recalls how her parents were diligent in shielding their children from the effects  of a segregated Jim Crow South.

Later, Dr. Hooks joined the faculty at Shelby State Community College (now Southwest Tennessee Community College) before accepting a position with Langston University in Langston, OK., where she filled both administrative posts as well as faculty assignments.