Benjamin Hooks, American minister, lawyer, and activist (d. 2010)

Benjamin Lawson Hooks (January 31, 1925 – April 15, 2010) was an American civil rights leader and government official. A Baptist minister and practicing attorney, he served as executive director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) from 1977 to 1992.

Throughout his career, Hooks was a vocal campaigner for civil rights in the United States, and served from 1972 to 1977 as the first African American member of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).