Henry L. Hooks

Who was Henry L. Hooks?

(December 23, 1921-November 26, 2021) American photojournalist born in Shreveport, LA-also named the Godfather of Photography in the Inland Empire (IE)-who was the first African American photographer in the Inland Empire to have his photographs published in The Sun Telegram, and who is attributed with having some of the first photos of African-Americans published in the San Bernardino Sun. Hooks won his first camera by submitting a coupon for a Joy Toothpaste contest he learned about at a Shreveport, LA drugstore where he then worked. After a Shreveport Sun editor viewed his film roll and gave him a byline in the paper, Hooks was in love with photography and forever wanting the next byline. A friend and photographer to photojournalist Gordon Parks and the late Congressman George Brown Jr. (CA), Hooks captured historically famous photos of Colin Powell, John F. Kennedy, Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Jesse Jackson, Rosa Parks, George Foreman, Sugar Ray Robinson, the Supremes, and more. Hooks also was selected as "the" photographer to cover all Republican National Committee (RNC) events in the San Bernardino area. A most famed still shot by Hooks is that of famous rapper Tupac Shakur and Secretary of State C. Delores Tucker (PA).

He served as a board member for the Boys and Girls Club, was installed as Worshipful Master for Prince Hall Lodge No. 17 in 1953, and funded the property purchase at 8th and L Streets in San Bernardino and eventual erection of the Masonic Lodge Hall.

Hooks was an sergeant in the U.S. Military Air Force during WWII, during which time he worked as a Projectionist, and as a Staff Presenter/Lecturer. Thereafter, he worked for Norton Air Force Base (San Bernardino Army Airfield) as a Quality Control Supervisor, and eventually for the Department of Defense as an AirCraft Mechanic, Crew Chief, AirCraft Inspector, and for NASA as inspector for Missile Systems in missile-testing U.S. moon-reach endeavors. After his 1979 retirement from the military, Hooks was placed in charge of the Republican Unit in San Bernardino, during the Reagan era, and is attributed with securing the necessary votes for election of governor and eventual President Reagan. In addition, Hooks was an entrepreneur and real estate business person who majored in Business Administration at San Bernardino Valley College.

He was a disabled veteran and founding member of American Legion Post #710, whose niece-Global Equality Advocate and Activist Greshun De Bouse (LA)-founded Disabled Veteran's Day (June 30). Hooks' award-winning work as staff photojournalist for the Precinct Reporter remains an inspiration to all, and he was honored in the San Bernardino County Museum in 2016. Hooks was married to the love of his life-Opal Hooks-for 77 years before transitioning from this earth just less than a month shy of his 100th birthday.