Dudley M. Brooks

Dudley M. Brooks is the Deputy Director of Photography for The Washington Post, where he manages the direction of photo content for the Features, Sports, and Metro sections. He was also the Photo Editor for The Washington Post Magazine before its discontinuance in late 2022. Prior to this, Brooks was the Director of Photography and Senior Photo Editor respectively for the monthly magazine Ebony and its weekly sister periodical Jet – both published by Johnson Publishing Company. These iconic publications chronicled the African American experience for over 70-years and Brooks was a key member of the senior staff responsible for rebranding the overall editorial approach of each.

A Maryland resident and a graduate of Morgan State University in Baltimore, Brooks began his journalism career in 1981 as a staff photographer for the Rockford Register Star newspaper in northern Illinois. He later joined the award-winning photo staff of The Washington Post from 1983-2005, where he also won several major accolades on his own merit.

Before returning to the Post in 2014, Brooks also served as the Assistant Managing Editor of Photography at The Baltimore Sun newspaper (2005-2007). He was also the co-creator of the landmark 1990 project Songs of My People: African Americans – A Self-Portrait. A best-selling book published by Little-Brown that – combined with an internationally toured exhibition – showcased newly commissioned work by 53 accomplished African American photographers from across the country. It was primarily sponsored by Time-Warner and the Smithsonian Institute Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES).