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Learn moreNAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY
San Francisco Chronicle • The Plain Dealer
The inspiring true story of a group of young men whose lives were changed by a visionary mentor
On April 4, 1968, the death of Martin Luther King, Jr., shocked the nation. Later that month, the Reverend John Brooks, a professor of theology at the College of the Holy Cross who shared Dr. King’s dream of an integrated society, drove up and down the East Coast searching for African American high school students to recruit to the school, young men he felt had the potential to succeed if given an opportunity. Among the twenty students he had a hand in recruiting that year were Clarence Thomas, the future Supreme Court justice; Edward P. Jones, who would go on to win a Pulitzer Prize for literature; and Theodore Wells, who would become one of the nation’s most successful defense attorneys. Many of the others went on to become stars in their fields as well.
In Fraternity, Diane Brady follows five of the men through their college years. Not only did the future president of Holy Cross convince the young men to attend the school, he also obtained full scholarships to support them, and then mentored, defended, coached, and befriended them through an often challenging four years of college, pushing them to reach for goals that would sustain them as adults.
Would these young men have become the leaders they are today without Father Brooks’s involvement? Fraternity is a triumphant testament to the power of education and mentorship, and a compelling argument for the difference one person can make in the lives of others.
Diane Brady grew up in Scotland and Canada before moving to Nairobi to begin her career as a journalist. She now writes for Bloomberg Businessweek in New York City, where she lives with her husband and three children. This is her first book.
Reviews
“Holy Cross, Black Power, and the Sixties could have been an unholy mix. A bold Jesuit priest made it a holy one. The story of Father John Brooks, Clarence Thomas, Ted Wells, and the others rings with power, pride, and human feeling. Fraternity and the saga it retells adds honor to my college.”—Chris Matthews, anchor, MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews
“Diane Brady’s book brilliantly shows how the attention and concern of one man changed not only the course of these individual lives but the course of history. This book is a template of how we should all think about both our societal responsibility and the gift of mentorship.”—Wes Moore, author of The Other Wes Moore
“An incredibly inspiring book . . . Diane Brady has captured the story not just of a group of amazing black men and their mentor but of an era. But most of all, Fraternity is about the power of hope, the power of presence in the lives of others, the power of mentorship, role modeling, and actionable belief. And this is why I see this book as the best modern-day example of the continued power of Dr. King’s Dream.”—John Hope Bryant, founder and CEO of Operation HOPE and author of Love Leadership: The New Way to Lead in a Fear-Based World
“Rife with questions about education that are as vital today as they were in the sixties, Fraternity is a reminder that success in life is often about being given the chance to succeed, and that great educators have the power to shape the course of history. This is an important story that will bring endless inspiration.”—Sampson Davis, author of The Pact: Three Young Men Make a Promise and Fulfill a Dream