27 Facts About Colston Westbrook

Colston Richard Westbrook was an American teacher and linguist who worked in the fields of minority education and literacy.

Colston Westbrook was born on September 14,1937, in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, where he was raised.

Colston Westbrook's father was Edward Cody Westbrook, who died in Germany while serving as a sergeant in the Army in World War II.

Colston Westbrook's siblings were Cody, Naomi, and Diane and Tanya Hill.

Colston Westbrook attended Chambersburg primary and high schools, graduating with honors in 1955.

Colston Westbrook attended Contra Costa College, in San Pablo where he excelled, particularly at languages.

Colston Westbrook was selected to travel to Rome, Italy to represent Contra Costa College under President Dwight D Eisenhower's People to People Student Ambassador Program.

Colston Westbrook worked with PAE for five years there, as the United States became increasingly embroiled in warfare, in an effort to prevent South Vietnam from being overtaken by communists.

In 1968, Colston Westbrook returned to the United States, where he began working with the Los Angeles Police Department's Criminal Conspiracy Section and the State of California's Criminal Identification and Investigation Unit.

Years later Colston Westbrook had contact with DeFreeze when the latter was in prison at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville.

Colston Westbrook organized student volunteers to work with prisoners, who included DeFreeze.

Colston Westbrook enrolled in the Linguistics department at the University of California, Berkeley in September 1970.

Colston Westbrook studied Swahili at Berkeley with Bwana Kaaya, from Tanzania.

Colston Westbrook understood and had a working knowledge of Bakweri.

Colston Westbrook worked in the fields of minority education and literacy.

Colston Westbrook continued to teach the class after completing his doctoral degree.

Colston Westbrook established his own educational consulting company, Minority Consultants, located on San Pablo Avenue in Berkeley.

Colston Westbrook served as dean of students at Contra Costa College in San Pablo, California from 1978 until 1989.

At that time Colston Westbrook was a graduate student at Berkeley and became the group's "outside visitors coordinator" for educational outreach from students at Bay Area colleges and universities.

Colston Westbrook reportedly was asked to work with this group.

Colston Westbrook's purported prior relationship with inmate Donald DeFreeze in Los Angeles has driven the contention that DeFreeze was recruited by Colston Westbrook as an informant to keep tabs on black inmates with radical political sympathies, and on interactions with radical students in the outreach program.

Colston Westbrook was President of the Pan African Student Union at UC Berkeley for two consecutive terms.

Colston Westbrook's means of acquiring weaponry has remained unexplained.

Colston Westbrook soon went into hiding, in fear for his life.

Colston Westbrook contended that he had fallen on the bad side of the SLA's founders because "lesbians" among them objected to his approval of miniskirt-clad black women attending BCA events, and bringing provocative images of women for BCA-affiliated inmates.

Colston Westbrook married Eposi Mary Ngomba, whom he met on a visit to Cameroon.

Colston Westbrook died of cancer at Kaiser Oakland Medical Center on August 3,1989.