In “Your Story” we celebrate the remarkable stories of everyday Americans from diverse backgrounds — in their own words — showcasing the enduring spirit of Our America’s Hometown Heroes across the nation.
Pastor Corey B. Brooks is the founder and Senior Pastor of New Beginnings Church of Chicago and the CEO of Project H.O.O.D. (Helping Others Obtain Destiny).
I was born in a little town called Kenton, Tennessee. When I was about ten, we moved to Muncie, Indiana — that’s where I grew up. They used to call it “Middletown USA.” I lived there with my mom and my two little brothers. My dad lived somewhere else, and I didn’t know him that well.
Growing up, my mom always made me go to church. Didn’t matter what I did on Friday or Saturday night — if you lived in her house, you were going to be in church on Sunday morning. I was rebellious, so I wasn’t trying to hear all that back then, but I’m glad she made me go, because eventually I became a believer.
In my teenage years, I gave my life to Jesus Christ. By the time I was nineteen, I fully committed. I never thought I’d be a preacher — in fact, I didn’t even like preachers — but I felt like God was calling me to do it. So I said, “Alright, I’m going to give my life to this.”
In 1995, I moved to Chicago to pastor a church in the Bronzeville area. It was a traditional Baptist church — a lot of professionals, older crowd. I stayed there for four years, but I didn’t want to just do the traditional thing anymore. I wanted to do something out of the box. So I left and started New Beginnings Church of Chicago in November of 2000. We focused on young adults, people who weren’t connected to church at all.
By 2011, I was sick and tired of hearing about the gangs in our neighborhood — the prostitution, the drugs, the gun sales. There was this motel right in the middle of it all. So I decided to take a stand. I went up on that roof and refused to come down for 94 days — not until we raised the money, not until we brought the awareness we needed. Out of that, we were able to buy the motel, tear it down, and start Project H.O.O.D. — Helping Others Obtain Destiny.
Since then, we’ve worked with a lot of young men who’ve been in gangs or prison. One of them is Jonathan. When I met him, he couldn’t read. He’d been deep in gang life. His six-month-old daughter was shot and killed while he was holding her. I stepped into his life, got him into our programs, back in school, out of the gangs, and into a job. That was over five years ago, and he’s still working with us on our violence prevention team.
You know, I’m on the South Side of Chicago, and it’s a very liberal area. A tough area. A place where, a lot of times, people are taught to hate America, taught that you can’t be successful, taught that white guilt is the order of the day.
But I don’t buy that. I teach — and I preach — that the American Dream is possible. It’s not some myth. The opportunities are there if you roll up your sleeves, take accountability, and be responsible. You can go after whatever it is God put in your heart.
I tell people all the time: you don’t have to be a victim to your circumstances, or to other people. You can take a stand for yourself. You don’t have to wait for the government to come save the day — because they’re not coming. If you get involved in the right things, make the right decisions, you can have the American Dream. It’s available to everyone.
Now we’re building a 90,000-square-foot Leadership and Economic Opportunity Center — a $47 million project. We’re about 60% done. And starting September 1st, I’m going to walk from Times Square in New York all the way to Los Angeles — 12.5 miles a day, Monday through Friday, for a whole year. I want to bring attention to the fact that every block in America can make a comeback, and I want to take the American Dream across the country, letting people know it’s still possible.
At the end of the day, my goal is to plant Project H.O.O.D.s all across America — urban areas, rural areas — to show people they don’t have to wait on the government to come save them. We can take responsibility for our lives. We can be overcomers. No matter where you start, you can achieve the American Dream.
