Avery Franklin Brooks (born October 2, 1948) is an American actor, director, musician and educator who was born in Evansville, Indiana. He is best known for portraying Captain Benjamin Sisko on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Hawk on Spenser: For Hire and A Man Called Hawk, and Dr. Bob Sweeney in the film American History X.

Early life and education

Brooks was born in Evansville to Eva Lydia Crawford, a music instructor and choral conductor, and Samuel Brooks, a union official and tool-and-die worker. His family moved to Gary, Indiana, when Brooks was eight years old.

Brooks attended Indiana University and Oberlin College before earning bachelor’s and Master of Fine Arts degrees from Rutgers University. In 1976, he became the first African American to receive an MFA in acting and directing from Rutgers.

Brooks later became a professor of theater at Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts while maintaining a career in acting, directing and music.