Kenneth Bronstorph M. Crooks papers, 1923-1974 | Amistad Research Center

The papers of the Jamaican-born educator Kenneth Bronstorph M. Crooks include correspondence, photographs, writings, diaries, and various collected items. Materials reflect Crooks' upbringing in Jamaica, his work as headmaster of Happy Grove School, his efforts to gain financial assistance for Jamaicans to study in the United States, and his other work as an educator in the U.S., as well as his scientific research.

The collection contains approximately 725 items of which about 500 are correspondence, covering the years 1941-1974. Most of the correspondence is to or from Kenneth Crooks Sr., except for the letters from 1959-1974 to his children Nella, Sylvia, and Kenneth Jr. Correspondence centers on Crooks Sr.'s work as headmaster of Happy Grove School and as pastor of a Friends' meeting in Jamaica, his efforts to gain financial assistance for Jamaicans to study in the United States, his work as an educator in the United States, his scientific research, and his personal finances. Principal correspondents include Happy Grove co-workers Sadie Harrison, Fred M. Jones, and Gladys Jones; Crooks' wife, Nella; his successor at Happy Grove, Rudolph A. "Buller" Burke; Alonzo G. Moron, president of Hampton Institute; and Lucien H. Von Schilling, Crooks' banker at Hampton.

The collection also contains Crooks' diaries, which date from his student days in Jamaica. They reflect not only his educational development, but the social conditions of the different cultures in which he moved, Jamaican, American, Black, and White. Additional materials include biographical data, writings, photographs, Fort Valley College student papers, financial records, headmaster's reports, press clippings, and collected items. The photographs document Happy Grove graduations, a Harvard University 25th year reunion, and a soccer team Crooks founded in the 1930s.