Janice Faye Grayson Brooks was one of 83 graduates from Wetumpka High School in 1966. Many graduates came before her and after her, but Brooks was the first Black student to graduate from an integrated Wetumpka High School.
Brooks was one of 12 Black students to leave W.B. Doby School in the fall of 1965 to begin integrating the Wetumpka schools. Brooks died in December 2024 at the age of 74 but her legacy carries on.
Janice Faye Grayson Brooks
Janice Faye Grayson Brooks
Bishop Hurdis Bozeman is a cousin of Brooks. But Brooks was more than that.
“Our mothers were sisters,” Bozeman said. “She took me on as a little sister when my older sister died.”
There were sleepovers and more. Bozeman said Brooks modeled what it meant to be a good person.
“She was loving and nice,” Bozeman said. “She didn’t meet a stranger. She encouraged us to do well. She taught us to be kind even if you are not treated fairly.”
Along the way, Brooks gave Bozeman her birthstone ring because they shared a birthday month.
“She said she wanted me to have something nice,” Bozeman said.
Years later Bozeman gave Brooks a diamond ring with crosses to return the favor.
Brooks was the first Black person to receive a high school diploma from Wetumpka in 1966, but Bozeman didn’t get to see the moment.
“Many of the family didn’t go to the graduation, including myself,” Bozeman said. “They didn’t want me to see some things that might happen. They threw stuff at her.”
The path was laid for Bozeman and other Black people. Just a few years later as Bozeman walked the halls of Wetumpka, she was inducted into the National Honor Society and was a “Beauty” in the yearbook.
“I looked up to her,” Bozeman said. “It was encouraging to know I could do this because she did it. We were blessed to have her as a trailblazer.”
Brooks left Wetumpka not long after graduation. She went to Clevand, Ohio. She then went to Brooklyn and started a family.
Bozeman kept up with her cousin. She traveled to Brooklyn to visit Brooks and she shared her life with her adopted younger sister.
“It was the first time I went to a beauty salon,” Bozeman said. “It was the first time I went to a movie theater.”
Brooks proved to be a hard worker. Her children, John Charles Duncan II and Renita Lylene Brooks, were always what motivated her.
She never forgot her education. In 1979, Brooks graduated magna cum laude, with a bachelor’s degree from Dyke College. She went into defense finance and accounting services and retired 25 years later as a chief finance officer.
Retirement saw her move south to Augusta, Georgia, to live with Duncan, his wife and Brooks’ grandchildren. Five years ago she returned to Ohio and lived with a niece and nephew.
“What a time we had,” Lakesha Faye Robinson said in Brooks' obituary. “Family moments were truly cherished and unforgettable memories were made. Janice, known to most as ‘Tee Janice,’ was always the light in the dark. If you were looking for a laugh, a pick me up, or some type of comment or cliché she was the key. She was the true example of ‘To Know Her, Is to Love Her.’”
Bozeman remembers many phone calls with Brooks. They always talk about family.
Even after Brooks’ death, Bozeman said her influence will always be felt.
“She will be missed,” Bozeman said. “Her life, leadership and love have been and will always be an inspiration for family, friends and everyone else.”
