Items

• [Untitled]
• Charlie Brooks Jr.’s (Shareef Ahmad Abdul-Rahim) Janazah (final rites) from the American Muslim Mission, Hussan Center, in Fort Worth, Texas.
  A Janazah, is an Islamic funeral prayer. It is a part of the Islamic funeral ritual.In Charlie Brooks Jr.’s Janazah, is contains his final prayer, his full obituary, a complete list of the service and a list of his casket bearers. His obituary contains all of his life facts: where he grew up and his family members, no mention specifically of how he passed.
• Letter from Charlie Brooks Jr., to Keith Brooks
  Here, it is evident Charlie Brooks Jr. has not spoken to his son in quite some time. Also it is revealed that Adrian Brooks has spent some time in jail, and Charlie Brooks Jr. was doing all of this investigating to find out more information and reaching out to various family members. However, the main aspect of this letter was Charlie Brooks Jr. asking his son if he still wanted to hear from him. Charlie tells him that there is, “a whole lot more that they can talk about, but he will leave that for a future date, if there is one-- I hope and pray there is”. Charlie closes the letter by encouraging his son to think for himself and not to let anyone else influence his decision in speaking to his father. It is evident Charlie desperately wants to communicate. to his sons
• Letter from Charlie Brooks Jr., to Keith Brooks.
  Here, Charlie Brooks is wishing his son Adrian a happy sixteenth birthday. In addition to this, Charlie Brooks uses this letter as a way to reflect to his son. He tells Adrian that even at sixteen he remembers being on the road that would eventually lead him “here”. Charlie then offers his son his best advise to, “avoid the mistakes he made”- he wants both Adrian and Derek to receive a complete education. He also advises his sons to, “put God first in everything that you do”. Charlie closes the letter by telling Adrian he wishes he could hear back from him and Derek. He also gave everyone in the family his love.
• Letter from Charles Brooks Jr., to Keith Brooks dated September 5, 1981
  Mr Charlie Brooks sends a two part, typed letter to his son Keith Brooks. In the first part of this letter, written on the 3rd of September, Brooks shows a lot of concern for his son’s relationship and contact with their other family members focusing primarily on Keith Brooks’ mother, older brother, and uncle The second part of the letter, written the following day, begins with Brooks talking about his relationship to God. He talks about his faith and how he continues his worship in prison. Brooks closes his letter by talking about his death sentence and the course of action he plans on taking to fight it.
• Letter from Charlie Brooks, Jr. to Keith Brooks, Dated June 28, 1981
  This letter is from Charlie Brooks to his son. Charlie shows his disappointment in this letter by discussing Keechie's imprisonment and his future. This is another example of parenting from jail.
• Letter from Charlie Brooks, Jr. to Keith Brooks, Dated May 30, 1981
  This letter is written by Charlie Brooks. He is asking his son, Keechie, why he does not write. He is also asking his son for a picture back and to schedule a visiting time.
• Letter from Charlie Brooks, Jr. to Keith Brooks, Dated May 3, 1981
  This letter is written by Charlie Brooks to his son, Keechie. Brooks is advising his son how to handle himself in fights and arguments in the future. The letter shows how Charles Brooks is parenting from jail.
• Letter from Charlie Brooks to son Keith Brooks, Dated September 1, 1980
  In this letter, Charlie Brooks writes to his son, Keith Brooks, where he talks about Sherri, a woman who which the relationship to the Brooks family is unknown. Brooks also empathizes with his son about being “red-lined,” and mentions Derrek, Brooks' son, as well. The letter concludes with the discussion of Brooks' academic future, and Charles Brooks reminds his son that he can write to him any time.
• Letter from Charlie Brooks to son Keith Brooks, Dated September 14, 1980
  In this letter, Charlie Brooks worries about the physical and mental health of his son, Keith Brooks. He wonders if Keith has gotten into trouble, and wishes that his son would respond to his letters in order to show him that he is alive and well. At the end of the letter, he thanks Keith for wishing him a happy birthday, as he is “the only one from home that remembered, or cared!”
• Photograph of Derrek Brooks and friends at high school graduation
  This is a photograph of Derrek Brooks with his friends at their high school graduation. Brooks graduated in 1980 from Green B. Trimble Technical High School in Fort Worth, Texas. Pictured from left to right is Ricky Diamond, Lee Stewart, Ronnie Smith and Derrek Brooks in the graduation cap (some names unknown).
• Letter from Charles K. Brooks to Charlie Brooks Jr., October 28, 1980
  This is a typed letter on white paper with green pen markings. It is a letter from Charlie Brooks to his son because his son has not responded to his last letter. Within the first few lines, Charlie Brooks’ dedication to religion shows. He is reassuring his son but also demonstrating a sense of worry for him.
• Letter from Oscar Harrard to Charles Brooks , Wednesday, October 8, 1980
  This is a handwritten letter in blue ink. It contains words of encouragement for the Charlie Brooks, the nephew, as well as mentions Charlie Brooks Jr.
• A Black and White Picture of Derrek Brook from Derrek Brooks’ Yearbook
  This is a black and white photograph from Derrek Brooks’ yearbook. The person in the picture is Derrek Brooks.
• Photograph of Charlie Brooks, Jr.
  This is a photograph of Charlie Brooks, Jr. sitting on a chair at prison with a plate of food on his lap.
• Envelope and Letter from Charlie Brooks to Keith Brooks dated November 13, 1980
  This is another letter from Charlie Brooks to Charlie Brooks Jr., who he again refers to as Kecchie. The envelope the letter is in has 4-12b written on the left and a scribble in the middle of it. In the letter, Charlie talks about his morning routine that consists of pulling out his Qur-an and talking to a picture of Kecchie. He then asks Kecchie how his GRE test went and that he is sure he did well, for he knows who he got his intelligence from. After talking about Kecchie's work and school life he changes the subject and talks about Kecchie’s sister Sherri.
• Envelope and letter from Charlie Brooks to Keith Brooks dated November 12, 1980
  This is Charlie Brook’’s envelope and letter to his son that he refers to as Kecchie. The envelope has 10/20 written on the left hand corner and 4-12b written in the center. The letter talks about how Charlie thinks that his last letter was not delivered because he put a stamp on it and how he will not do that anymore. He tells his son he wants to start writing to each other every week and that he hopes that isn't too much to ask for.
• Letter to Mr. Charlie Brooks Jr. from his Father, dated November 15, 1981
  This document is a letter from Mr. Brooks to his son. The letter opens with Mr. Brooks describing to his son that he has been feeling ill due to the flu virus. He moves on to talk about how he had a visit from his daughter and Mr. Brooks’ Jr. sister and his niece “Sherri” (as he likes to call her). He mentions that the visit was short and he was happy to see them. He says that he does not have a lot to say in the letter, and says to take care.
• Letter from Charlie Brooks Jr. to Adrian K. Brooks, Dated December 5, 1982
  This a typewriter transcribed letter from Charlie Brooks Jr. to his son, Adrian K. Brooks. Charlie first asks forgiveness from his son for the attention he has brought on his family for his conviction, and goes on to explain how Islam has changed his life from a non-believer’s to someone dedicated to God. He hopes Adrian will have an understanding of God one day, and encourages Adrian to maintain correspondence with his brother, Derek, and to further his education. He closes with a plea for Adrian to take care of himself and his family.
• Letter from Charlie Brooks Jr. to Charles Brooks, dated July 29, 1981
  Letter from Charlie Brooks Jr. to Charles Brooks, dated July 29, 1981 Description: This is a handwritten letter from Charlie Brooks Jr. to his son, speaking about his efforts to guide a fellow prisoner onto the right path, stating that the man reminds him of his son. Charlie then tells Charles not to completely shut people out of his life, and encourages him to keep writing letters to his family even if they do not always answer. He then speaks about his own trial, and how he believes that though he has been found guilty he will not be executed, as he has yet to exhaust the appeals process. He has faith that justice will be done, but resigns himself to execution if it is in God’s plan.
• Letter from Charlie Brooks, Jr. to Keith Brooks, Dated December 16, 1980
  In this typed letter from Charlie Brooks to Charlie Brooks Jr. , he takes blame for the hardships his son faces. He also suggests selling cigarettes as a side job to help provide for his family.
• Letter from Charlie Brooks, to Keith Brooks, Dated December 27, 1980
  In this typed letter from Charlie Brooks to Charlie Brooks Jr., he apologizes for not being in Charlie Brooks Jr.’s life. The letter includes handwritten edits completed by Charlie Brooks with a green ink pen. He gives his son advice about his girlfriend, smoking and craft.
• Mugshot of Charlie Brooks for Death Row
  This black and white photograph shows Charlie Brooks holding a board that is half cut out in his mugshot for death row.
• Letter from Charlie Brooks Jr. to Keith Brooks Dated July 12, 1981
  Charlie advises Keith to keep in contact with his family and not become too isolated by sharing a story of when he found out Keith was first born. Charlie also informs him that the Supreme Court refuses to review his case again and updates him on his sister’s life.
• Picture of Protesters Supporting Lethal Injection
  A picture of eight white protestors who are holding signs in support of lethal injection. The signs read “Kill ‘em in the vein, make it good” and “Justice finally prevails” with syringes on them.